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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27512863">Ice Cold Irises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFlower97/pseuds/MoonFlower97'>MoonFlower97</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Royalty, Family, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Mpreg, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 04:20:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27512863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFlower97/pseuds/MoonFlower97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Xiumin is a bloody cold-hearted King who doesn't fall in love. He decided to bride a random civilian to get an heir and then kill him. Did everything go the same way he planned? I don't think so.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>#𝓑𝓪𝓫𝔂𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕱𝖊𝖘𝖙𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Code: BMF162/2020<br/>Pairing: Jongdae/Minseok<br/>Carrier: Jongdae<br/>Pregnancy: Pre/during pregnancy<br/>Babies: Only one<br/>Prompt:  Xiumin is a bloody cold-hearted King who doesn't fall in love. He decided to bride a random civilian to get an heir and then kill him. Did everything go the same way he planned? I don't think so.</p>
<p>Greetings readers! This is my work for the #BabyMakingFest2020 and I hope you enjoy the story. I thought this was such an interesting prompt that I just took it and ran with it and I hope it is acceptable for the prompter. Thank you for looking at my work!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Xiumin rolled his eyes for the hundredth time during another boring meeting he was stuck in.</p><p>“What do you think about that sir?” Junmeyon, the King's advisor, asked as he looked through his agenda for the meeting.</p><p>“Sure, sure, whatever. Sounds good.” Xiumin waved his hand before going back to doodling on his paper.</p><p>“Um, sir?” Junmeyon asks timidly. “We were talking about what we should do about the low crop yield this year. It was suggested to raise taxes to cover the loss of food or if we should start rations for everyone in the kingdom.” Junmeyon summarized, since he knew the King was not paying attention at all.</p><p>“Oh my god, do I have to do everything here? You all should be able to figure this out by yourselves. Think about it. Why would we tax people who are making even less this year, and why would we ration food for everyone when some had enough crops, they would just end up with a surplus.” Xiumin looked around the table to make sure everyone was paying attention to him.</p><p>“What we should do is open a food shelf. Ask for donations from those with a surplus and then those in need can get food when they need it. We can also help by providing food from the castle's food sources and neighboring kingdoms that have had a good crop this year.” Xiumin sighed as he finished, as if it wasn’t the most obvious solution.</p><p>The other men around the table all nodded their heads excitedly, as they knew the King's plan was the best one yet, which just caused Xiumin to roll his eyes again because of course it was.</p><p>“So, are we done then? I'd like to move on with my day.” Xiumin stood to leave the gathering place when Junmeyon’s voice stopped him.</p><p>“Actually, sir. Speaking of other kingdoms. There has been many letters of concern from them regarding your future heir or lack thereof.” Junmeyon stated quietly as he knew it was a sore spot of the King’s.</p><p>“What do you mean, concerns from other kingdoms?” Xiumin turned around angrily. “Why do they have any concern about my heir?”</p><p>“Well, they believe that they can’t continue to support a kingdom that can’t protect its own future. They believe that without an heir this kingdom will one day perish, and any aid they provide can’t be repaid.” Junmeyon bit his lip as he waited for the King to reply.</p><p>“Those greedy bastards!” Xiumin yelled. “They want to say that now, even though we have helped more than we have asked? Next time I see one of those big-headed pricks I’m going to- ugh!” Xiumin groaned. “It's fine. Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you. Until then start implementing my plan.” Xiumin didn’t wait for anyone to reply before storming out of the meeting.</p><p>Xiumin paced around his bedroom thinking through what Junmeyon had said. He was right of course, what kind of kingdom could be trusted if they didn’t have an heir to continue their rule. But Xiumin had never been interested in anyone romantically, let alone the idea of creating a family. Every prince or princess who had visited was too airheaded or only wanted his money, those weren’t people he wanted to have children with. He needed someone who was strong, had the interests of his kingdom in mind, and would be loyal to him without external interferences. Then it hit him, the perfect person to be his bride and bare him an heir would be someone from his own kingdom.</p><p>Xiumin called a late-night meeting with the head of his guards and Junmeyon to tell them his plan.</p><p>“I'm sorry for calling on you both so late, but I have been thinking about what you said today Junmeyon, and I think I came up with the perfect plan.”</p><p>Junmeyon looked skeptical at the King, but he knew better than to try and argue. “What did you come up with?”</p><p>“Well, I found the perfect way to pick a person to carry my heir. I want someone who will have the best interests of this kingdom in mind, is loyal to me, and is built strong and healthy to bare a child. And I want you to find them.” Xiumin gestured to Junmeyon and the head guard, Chanyeol.</p><p>“Us? How and where are we supposed to find someone like that?” Chanyeol questioned.</p><p>“From this kingdom of course. Just go out into the land, and find someone who fits all those qualities. Bring them to me as quick as possible, and I will make sure we have an heir by the end of the year.” Xiumin smiled at his plan.</p><p>“By find you mean kidnap? We can’t do that!”  The guard looked nervously at Junmeyon for help.</p><p>“Of course you can. It's for the betterment of the kingdom and proves their loyalty to their King. If they do not see the kind of privilege that is then they didn’t meet the criteria for my bride in the first place. And once they secure me an heir, we’ll just kill them off. I don’t need to waste my time with a silly romance after that.” Xiumin rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing. “Now, don’t waste too much time. Head out at once.” Xiumin dismissed the two, prideful in his plan.</p><p>Chanyeol and Junmeyon shared a scared look at each other but knew better than to disobey their King.</p><p>~</p><p> It had been several days since Xiumin had sent his guards out to find him a bride. He was beginning to think that he had no loyal subjects if none were willing to bear an heir for their kingdom.</p><p>Over two weeks later his guards finally arrived back at the castle.</p><p>“Have you found someone?” Xiumin greeted the guards at the gate and tried to look behind them but all he saw was the carriage with its curtains closed.</p><p>“We have, but he didn’t want to come easily, so we had to sedate him. He will be out for a few more hours.” Chanyeol looked back at the carriage sadly.</p><p>“That’s perfect. Bring him to my room, get him cleaned up, and make sure to lock the doors. Don’t need him running off on me.” Xiumin nodded at Chanyeol before he went on with his day. He couldn’t lie that he was slightly excited to see who they had chosen.</p><p>By the time Xiumin had finished his duties for the day, it was much later at night than he had expected, and he had almost forgotten about the bride that was brought to him.</p><p>As Xiumin opened his bedroom door, he noticed the light to the bathroom was on, but the door was shut which was unusual.</p><p>Xiumin opened the door slowly and saw a figure crouched on the ground by the bathtub. Xiumin couldn’t see his face, but he saw their short brown hair and that they were dressed in a peach-colored robe.</p><p>When the door creaked on its hinges, the figure snapped around boring his eyes into Xiumin.</p><p>“So, you must be my bride. Kind of rude of you not to greet me when I arrive.” Xiumin crossed his arms as he stared at the other man. “Fine. I'm sorry, why don’t we start again.” Xiumin walked over to the man and crouched in front of him.</p><p>“Hello, my bride. I am King Xiumin. What is your name?” Xiumin tilted his head to the side as he waited for the other to answer.</p><p>The man looked Xiumin up and down before clearing his throat. “I'm Jongdae. Kim Jongdae.” Xiumin smiled as he heard the voice of his bride for the first time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongdae stared into the ice-cold eyes of the King who looked at him hungrily.</p><p>“I am not your bride.” Jongdae spit out when he couldn’t stand the look of the King any longer.</p><p>“Oh, but I think you are. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Isn’t that right?” The King walked towards Jongdae and crouched down to his eye level.</p><p>“I was taken here. I had no choice.” Jongdae turned away from the King to stare at the wall.</p><p>Xiumin examined the other for a minute and saw how reserved he was and decided that it was best to let him be for now.</p><p>“I have some matters to still attend to tonight. Try to get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning.” The King sighed before standing up and leaving his room again.</p><p>Xiumin wandered the halls of his castle for as long as he could stand it before finally calling a meeting between Junmeyon and Chanyeol</p><p>“Why is my bride so hostile to my attention? Didn’t I say to bring someone who wanted to come here?” Xiumin threatened the two men.</p><p>“W-well you see. It was complicated.” Chanyeol offered scratching the back of his neck nervously.</p><p>“Complicated how?” Xiumin growled.</p><p>“W-well when we made it to his village, we had stated your requirements for your bride and waited for possible matches to come to us. When he arrived, we asked him questions to your requirements, and he fit everything you were looking for, but he was not prepared to leave his family. It had been weeks since we first left, and he was the closest person we could find. We knew we needed to find someone soon so we decided to sedate him and take him back.” Chanyeol finished nervously.</p><p>Xiumin sighed into his hands. It was true, it was taking a long time to find someone as a possible bride, and he couldn’t afford to wait forever.</p><p>“Well, what am I supposed to do with someone who doesn’t want to be here?” Xiumin asked.</p><p>“Make him feel comfortable here. You can’t just expect someone to accept you right away.” Junmeyon offered, as if it was obvious.</p><p>“How do I do that? Why do I have to do that? I'm the King, he should know how great of an honor this is.” Xiumin was turned off by the idea that he had to make his bride appreciate his position.</p><p>“You can’t just expect someone to make a baby with you without some kind of relationship. That’s not the right way to bring an heir into this kingdom. Not to mention what everyone would say if they found out you just kidnapped someone to make a baby with them and are going to dispose of them after.” Junmeyon was surprised by how dense the King was when it came to interacting with people.</p><p>“But that’s exactly what I intend to do! Who cares what everyone thinks? They want an heir, I'll give them one.” Xiumin groaned in annoyance.</p><p>“You can’t do that!” Chanyeol yelled at the King who stared at the guard in shock.</p><p>“I'm sorry for the outburst, your highness, but this is a human being. While he may be just a means to an end for you, you have to understand he is a person with a family and a life and no matter what you want from him, he deserves to be respected as a person.” Chanyeol finished still staring down the King with as much authority as he could muster.</p><p>The king still stared in shock at his guard, but let his words sink in. Xiumin stood from his chair as the two men held their breaths.</p><p>“It is very late. I'm sorry for pulling you both out of bed again. Please take the next few days off to recover from your mission. Thank you.” And with that the King left the two men in silence.</p><p>“Do you think he’s mad?” Chanyeol asked after a moment wringing his hands nervously.</p><p>“No. He’s not mad, but he definitely isn’t happy.” Junmeyon signed as he began to think of what the King may do with Jongdae.</p><p>~</p><p>Xiumin wandered back to his chambers with Chanyeol's words swirling in his mind. Of course Jongdae was a person, but what did he mean to be respected as one? Wasn’t it respect enough to be called on by the King like this? And why does he have to make the other feel comfortable in his palace? He was told he needed an heir, he was going to get one, why did he have to put effort into a relationship with the man too.</p><p>With Xiumin's thoughts still full of questions and contradictions, he walked into his bedroom forgetting for a moment that Jongdae was in it, when he saw a figure laying in his bed.</p><p>Xiumin walked to the side of the bed and stared at the sleeping figure. The man had soft brown hair that was slightly curly and dusted his forehead. His lips had a slight curl to them making it look as if he was smiling even while sleeping, and his face looked so soft and innocent.</p><p>Xiumin sighed and climbed into the other side of the bed, resigning to deal with his bride in the morning before drifting to sleep.</p><p>~</p><p>When Jongdae awoke the next day he snuggled deeper into the comforter wrapped around him and turned around only to stare into the King's sleeping face.</p><p>Jongdae gasped and stumbled backwards falling off the bed.</p><p>“Ow.” Jongdae laid on the ground looking up at the ceiling as he recalled the previous few days and how he ended up in the bed of his kingdom's ruler.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Xiumin leaned over the edge of the bed and peered down at the man, who in the process of falling, had his robe opened revealing his bare chest and just the thin white boxers he was given the day before.</p><p>“I-I’m fine.” Jongdae wrapped his robe around him and curled his legs into his chest and looked away from the King’s gaze.</p><p>Xiumin noticed how the other retreated from him and decided to give him some space.</p><p>“There will be breakfast in the dining hall in half an hour. I expect you to be down there.” Xiumin stated before wrapping his robe around him and heading from the room.</p><p>~</p><p>When Jongdae entered the dining hall, he couldn’t stop gaping at the beauty of the castle. He knew the royal family lived a lavish life and he never expected to see it with his own eyes, so he couldn’t stop staring.</p><p>“Please, have a seat.” A man waved his hand towards the dining table, and Jongdae followed his hand to an empty seat between two men with the king sitting across from him.</p><p>“Good morning, Jongdae. I hope you slept well.” The man sitting to Jongdae's left asked him. “Sorry, let me introduce myself. I am Junmeyon. I am the King's advisor. We briefly met in your village.” The man nodded his head, smiling at Jongdae.</p><p>“Thank you. I did sleep well, J-Junmeyon.” Jongdae bowed politely before turning to his plate which was already full of many foods that he had never seen before. Jongdae pushed the food around his plate trying to decide what he should eat first.</p><p>“Is the food not good enough for you? I would think you would be more grateful for having such extravagant food before you.” The King spit out as he watched Jongdae mess with his food.</p><p>“N-No. That’s not what I thought.” Jongdae sat up with wide eyes. “I-I’ve just never seen such types of food before. I don’t know what most of it is. I-I’m sorry.” Jongdae looked sadly at his lap as he felt just how inadequate he was in the presence of the King.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it Jongdae. It's probably different than what you’ve had in your village. This is just some fancy eggs and some fruits that are common to this area of the kingdom, and this is just meat. Nothing scary about them.” Junmeyon pointed out the different types of food in ways Jongdae understood, and he felt better.</p><p>Jongdae hesitantly picked up some of the fruits and smiled as the taste hit his tongue, until he heard a scoff from the King across from him, and Jongdae was back to being self-conscious of himself.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae had spent the whole rest of the day exploring the castle he would be living in now and was amazed at how much could fit in the place. There were beautiful gardens surrounding the castle that contained flowers and fauna Jongdae had never seen in his life. The halls of the castle were plastered with old portraits and beautiful art pieces that were decades old, and Jongdae wondered what kind of history they contained.</p><p>It was almost the late afternoon and Jongdae had managed to evade the King the whole day, but he dreaded what would happen when he had to return to their shared bedroom that night.</p><p>Jongdae had traveled to the last hall of the castle and saw a pair of double doors. Opening them slowly Jongdae gasped at the floor to ceiling bookshelves that covered every wall.</p><p>Jongdae wandered into the room and traveled to the first bookshelf he saw scanning the titles and touching their old leather sleeves.</p><p>Growing up in his small village Jongdae had only ever learned to read basic words and knew how to write even less. There wasn’t much use for reading for leisure when you had to work for most of your life.</p><p>Jongdae grabbed a small book off the shelf and opened it scanning the words on the page recognizing some of them but many he didn’t. Jongdae was confused on how the sentences were written and it made less and less sense the more he tried to read.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Jongdae jumped, dropping the book he was holding and turned to face the King who was staring back at him.</p><p>“I-I’m s-sorry. I was just, exploring.” Jongdae leaned down to pick the book up not daring to look the King in the eye.</p><p>“Can you even read?” The King asked coldly.</p><p>“Um. Somewhat. But nothing like this.” Jongdae blushed embarrassed.</p><p>“Okay, well I was coming to tell you dinner will be served soon so head to the dining hall.” Xiumin turned to leave but was held back by a hand on his sleeve.</p><p>“Um. Could you tell me what type of book this is?” Jongdae blushed harder as he held the book he was holding out.</p><p>Xiumin glanced at the book before looking back up at Jongdae. “It’s a collection of poems. Not really a book.” The King answered matter of fact. </p><p>“Poems?” Jongdae looked at the book again as if he could tell what a poem was from the cover.</p><p>“Poems are types of artistic writing like a song that convey different feelings and emotions.” Xiumin sighed as he had to explain what a poem was to the other. “Come on. Let’s go to dinner.” Xiumin stated before leaving the other alone in the library.</p><p>“Oh. Ok.” Jongdae set the book of poems on a table before heading from the library.</p><p>As he walked to the dining hall, Jongdae couldn’t even look at the beautiful halls around him anymore. The more time he spent at the castle, and the more time he spent around the King, Jongdae saw how different and lacking he was from the type of bride the King deserved.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongdae wandered into the dining room a few minutes after the King but was surprised to see it was only the two of them this time.</p><p>“Where is everyone else?” Jongdae asked, dreading having to spend a whole meal with the King by himself.</p><p>“They won’t be eating with us tonight. I wanted to have a dinner with just us.” The King replied coldly as he sat in his seat waving the butler to start serving the dinner.</p><p>Jongdae nodded his head before taking his seat across from the king.</p><p>“So what did you do all day?” Jongdae tried to start a conversation with the King to fill the silence that was engulfing them.</p><p>“Why do you need to know what I did?” Xiumin asked genuinely confused why his bride cared.</p><p>“O-oh. S-sorry for asking.” Jongdae blushed in embarrassment as he went back to his food not daring to look at the King.</p><p>Xiumin studied the blush on Jongdae's face and heard the words Junmeyon had spoken to him the other night. <em>Make him feel comfortable.</em></p><p>Xiumin cleared his throat causing Jongdae's eyes to shoot up in surprise. “I just had meetings all day. Dealing with the low crop yields this year in the kingdom.” Xiumin answered Jongdae's question, still confused on why he would want to know something so boring.</p><p>“Oh? I didn’t know crops were low this year. My village has done pretty well this year.” Jongdae was delighted the King had opened up a little, and he had something he could actually talk to him about.</p><p>“Yes, but yours is one of the few. Many of the villages to the south had very little rain so many of their fields dried up early.” Xiumin stated the facts he had been told in his meetings, intrigued that this interested Jongdae.</p><p>“What are you going to do about them? There is no way they will survive the winter if they have no crops.” Jongdae's face scrunched in concern as he heard about the concerns of the villages that surrounded his.</p><p>“We plan to provide crops from the castle's reserves as well as ask for donations from successful villages and surrounding kingdoms to open food shelves in the struggling villages. Several of my meetings today were to bring those plans to neighboring kingdoms.” Xiumin chewed a piece of his food and took a sip of wine as he finished.</p><p>“Really!” Jongdae exclaimed, causing Xiumin to choke on his wine in surprise. “That’s amazing! I never would have thought of something like that. I guess that’s why you’re our King, you always know what to do to help your people.” Jongdae smiled as he continued to eat, making Xiumin blush at the compliment.</p><p>The rest of their meal was spent with idle conversation and Xiumin got to know Jongdae better than he had expected. He came from a small village to the east. He had an older brother and sister and one younger brother who all helped their parents on their farm. His sister was the only one who didn’t because she was a skilled seamstress and worked at the local tailor business in the village.</p><p>Xiumin also told Jongdae a little bit about his own background and how he was an only child groomed to be King from the moment he was born. His parents had moved to a far kingdom after they passed the title onto their son, so it had been just him in the castle for almost 5 years now.</p><p>“Don’t you get lonely? I don’t know what I would do if I had to be by myself for years. I love my family, even if they get on my nerves sometimes.” Jongdae pouted as he heard of the King's upbringing.</p><p>“I guess you can’t miss what you don’t know.” Xiumin shrugged as he sipped on his wine some more.</p><p>“Well I hope we can have multiple children. I want them to grow up with someone else around.” Jongdae smiled as he finished his dessert snapping Xiumin back into reality.</p><p>“Speaking of children. You understand the reason you are here?” Xiumin questioned as it was the first time either of them had brought up the reason Jongdae was there.</p><p>“Oh. Um, yes. Yes, I do.” Jongdae was suddenly embarrassed.</p><p>“Tell me. I need to hear from you why you think you’re here.” Xiumin stared coldly at the other, his eyes trying to read Jongdae's expressions.</p><p>“W-well, I was told the King needed an heir and any eligible carrier was to report to the guardsmen who had come to the village. My parents told me to go, and they asked me all sorts of questions about my life, how I view the kingdom and the King. When I finished, they said I had been selected to be the King's bride and that I was to bring an heir to the kingdom by the years end.” Jongdae blushed even harder as he fidgeted with his hands.</p><p>“Good. That is exactly what your duty is. Neighboring kingdoms have been looking down on me because I have yet to have an heir, so that is why you are here. Provide me an heir and nothing else. Got it? As long as you are fulfilling your duty you can have access to anywhere in the castle and are free to spend your days as you please but at night we are to have sex, every day, until you get pregnant. Understood?” Xiumin recited as if it was a contract Jongdae had to sign.</p><p>Jongdae nodded his head, his eyes never leaving his lap as he felt tears prickle the back of his eyes. He knew why he was here, but to hear the King state it so coldly he really saw that he was just another servant of the King and nothing more, now or ever. But Jongdae accepted his fate. He knew what it meant for his kingdom to have an heir and he would help the king in any way he could without anything in return.</p><p>“Good. Now let’s head to bed. I have an early morning.” The King stood and waved the butler to start cleaning up.</p><p>Jongdae wiped his eyes before any tears could fall and followed after the other trying to prepare himself for what was to come.</p><p>When they had arrived at their shared bedroom Xiumin had told Jongdae to shower first as he laid out some clothes for him.</p><p>When Xiumin had finished his shower he had come out of the bathroom with just his towel around his waist as Jongdae sat expectantly on the edge of the bed in the shorts and shirt Xiumin had laid out for him.</p><p>Xiumin walked over to stand in front of Jongdae and placed his hand on the others cheek softly. Jongdae sighed and leaned into the soft touch closing his eyes.</p><p>Suddenly Jongdae felt the King lean down and kiss his lips tenderly. Jongdae opened his eyes in surprise at the soft touch but didn’t pull away and instead opened his mouth when Xiumin's tongue begged for entrance. Jongdae moaned at the way Xiumin's tongue felt against his and wrapped his arms around the other.</p><p>Xiumin placed his hands on Jongdae's hips pushing the other further up on the bed before swiftly removing the others shirt. Jongdae gasped at the cool air on his skin, but Xiumin wasted no time filling his mouth with his tongue again.</p><p>Jongdae didn’t know how long they had kissed for, but his body felt hot and his head was dizzy when they finally broke apart. Xiumin took the break as an opportunity to remove Jongdae's shorts and his own towel leaving them both completely exposed. Jongdae hadn’t even realized when he got hard, but he was glad to see the king was in the same predicament.</p><p>Xiumin lowered his head towards one of Jongdae's nipples taking the nub between his lips and sucking it softly. Jongdae moaned at the action but his mouth was soon full of Xiumin's fingers and Jongdae sucked on them hungrily in return.</p><p>When his fingers were wet enough Xiumin removed them from Jongdae's mouth and moved them to his entrance circling the ring of muscle soothingly as he continued his ministrations on Jongdae's chest. When Xiumin felt Jongdae relax a little he inserted a finger inside causing Jongdae to gasp in surprise.</p><p>Xiumin moved up to begin kissing and sucking Jongdae's neck to distract him from the discomfort as he began to move his finger in and out. After a few minutes Jongdae only moaned in pleasure and Xiumin decided to add a second finger.</p><p>“M-more” Jongdae gasped as the two fingers soon weren’t enough to satisfy the itch he felt.</p><p>“Okay, Jongdae. Let me know if it hurts.” The king whispered in the others ear before putting a third finger inside, and Jongdae grabbed the sheets and moaned in pleasure at the way the king's fingers were stretching him so deliciously.</p><p>After a few minutes Jongdae was soon moving on his own trying to get the king's fingers to go deeper, fill him up more. “Y-your highness. I-I think im ready.” Jongdae panted when he couldn’t take just the king's fingers anymore and Xiumin understood what he wanted.</p><p>The King removed his fingers and spit into his hand coating his erection in his saliva before lining up to Jongdae's entrance.</p><p>“Are you ready?” Xiumin asked as he looked at Jongdae's face for any sign of discomfort. The other nodded his head quickly, begging the King with his eyes to enter him.</p><p>Xiumin nodded back before slowly pushing into Jongdae's entrance feeling the heat envelop his member. Xiumin moaned at the feeling when he was fully inside of Jongdae, panting as he tried to control pounding into the other right away.</p><p>“Y-your highness. You can move.” Jongdae groaned as he felt how full the king's member made him.</p><p>Xiumin fell forward his face inches from Jongdae’s, and as he looked into the others eyes for a few seconds. “Minseok. Call me Minseok. I am Minseok to only you.” The King replied before pulling out almost all the way and slamming back into Jongdae causing Jongdae to moan and arch his back off the bed.</p><p>Xiumin started a steady pace feeling the way Jongdae sucked him in with every thrust and listened to the broken moans the other released with every pump.</p><p>“M-Minseok. F-faster.” Jongdae groaned as he tangled his hands into the king's hair, feeling his stomach tighten with every thrust.</p><p>Xiumin growled at the command and sped his thrusts up even more, trying to extract a louder moan from Jongdae than the last.</p><p>Suddenly Jongdae threw his head back in pleasure when he felt the King hit a certain spot inside of him. “R-right there. M-Minseok.” Jongdae pleaded with the King to hit him in the same spot.</p><p>Xiumin smirked as he knew exactly what the other wanted as he kneeled on the bed and put the others legs over his shoulders thrusting right into the spot that made Jongdae see stars.</p><p>“Y-yes. Yes.” Jongdae could barely form words as he felt immense pleasure with every thrust the King gave. “M-Minseok. I'm c-close.” Jongdae warned as he felt himself come closer to the edge.</p><p>Xiumin gripped Jongdae's hips roughly before continuing to pound into the other and after only a few more thrusts Jongdae came hard between them clenching Xiumin's cock making the king come a few moments later deep inside Jongdae.</p><p>After a few moments Xiumin pulled out of Jongdae and grabbed a towel to clean them both up with. Soon Xiumin had gotten them both changed and put Jongdae under the covers as he was already falling asleep before he went to turn off the lights and climb into the other side of the bed.</p><p>Soon Xiumin heard the soft snores of the other male and he began thinking about what they just did. The King had had sex a couple of times before, just with flings that had passed through the kingdom, but none of them had been as pleasurable as that with Jongdae.</p><p>As he watched the others sleeping face from the moonlight that filtered into the room Xiumin thought that maybe Jongdae was more than just his means to an heir, like Chanyeol had said. He could tell Jongdae was someone special.</p><p>~</p><p>The next two weeks had become a similar routine every day. Xiumin would attend his royal duties throughout the day working on keeping his kingdom running smoothly and forming relationships with other kingdoms, as well as dealing with the constant barrage of complaints about an heir.</p><p>Jongdae meanwhile spent all his time wandering around the castle. Sometimes he would mess around in the kitchen and make snacks for the castle servants. Other days he would wander the gardens trying to name as many different plants as he could, but his favorite place was the library. Since he had come to the castle he had gotten much better at reading, with the help of Junmeyon and some of the other servants, that he was almost able to read everything in the poetry book from when he first arrived.</p><p>He enjoyed all the stories the poems could tell, and he was beginning to understand what the author was feeling when they had first written them. His favorite were the love poems though, whether it was about heartbreak, new love, first kiss, unconditional love, he never imagined one emotion could be written in so many ways. But the more he read, the more his heart ached as he felt he would never experience the kind of love the authors wrote about. His would always be one sided and unrequited.</p><p>While things had gotten better with Xiumin, or Minseok as Jongdae called him when they were alone, he still felt like the King was still never fully with him. They had a few dinners a week just to themselves, but mostly they were with other people and that usually meant royal business was the only topic of discussion which Jongdae never felt suitable enough to contribute to.</p><p>When they were alone though, Minseok was a completely different person. He asked Jongdae about his day, what interesting things he had been up to, or the mischief he had heard about him around the castle; but the minute anyone else entered it was as if Jongdae was back to being the bride he was brought here to be, and not the friend Jongdae thought they were becoming.</p><p>They still had sex every night, or if Xiumin would be busy, they had quickies in the shower as they got ready for bed before Xiumin had to run off to late night meetings. Since it had been two weeks since Jongdae had arrived he would soon be having doctors appointments to tell if he was pregnant or not, and Jongdae was dreading the consequences if he couldn’t become pregnant.</p><p>“Reading some more poems?” Jongdae jumped when he heard the King's voice in his ear.</p><p>“O-oh yeah. I could read this book a hundred times over.” Jongdae smiled as he flipped the next page.</p><p>“Well, why don’t I show you my favorite book.” Xiumin wandered over to a bookshelf across the room and scanned the shelf for a minute before he found what he was looking for and returned back.</p><p>“What’s it about?” Jongdae grabbed the book and saw that it was really worn out, and he could tell it had been read many times.</p><p>“If I told you then it wouldn’t be any fun.” The King smiled before walking towards the doors. “Dinner will be ready in an hour.” Xiumin stated before disappearing behind the doors, and Jongdae had to calm down his beating heart from the way Minseok smiled at him.</p><p>Xiumin walked towards the meeting room, his smile never leaving his face. He wouldn’t tell Jongdae, but he had been watching the other read for quite a while before he decided to enter. He had never met anyone like Jongdae before, and the more time they spent together the more Jongdae seemed like an enigma to him.</p><p>The other had seemed to get more comfortable the more time he spent around the castle. He had heard from all his servants that he brightened every room he stepped into, and Xiumin felt it himself. Whenever he saw the other enter the dining room he suppressed the smile that tried to make its way to his face. When he spoke, he captured everyone’s attention even if he wasn’t trying to. He shared his thoughts on how the kingdom was running, and it was never in a condescending way but showed that he had great pride in his kingdom, and that made Xiumin's heart swell that he found someone else just as passionate about his people as he was.</p><p>It was getting harder to hide the fact that he enjoyed the others company more than anyone he had met before, and that scared him. Xiumin had been alone most of his life, leading a kingdom with just himself to hold accountable. With Jongdae by his side he felt he could do anything, and he didn’t know how to deal with that. Thinking of someone other than himself, protecting someone other than himself, and he was scared of the feelings he was uncovering.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongdae sat on the small table in the middle of the doctors quarters and waited for the results of his tests again. It had been a month now since he had come to the kings castle, and he was still not showing any results for the only reason he was there.</p><p>“So. I am sorry to say there is no indication you are pregnant yet Jongdae. I'm sorry.” The doctor stated sadly. Jongdae had gotten to know the doctor pretty well the last few weeks and he knew he was just doing his job, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened at their meetings.</p><p>“Is there something wrong with me, Yixing? How have I not gotten pregnant yet?” Jongdae sighed as he put his regular clothes back on.</p><p>“There is nothing wrong with you. Male pregnancies are much harder to track so it is harder to plan them. It's only been a month, you have plenty of time.” Yixing smiled as he patted Jongdae on the back.</p><p>“But if I can’t get pregnant, what good am I here? I can’t even do what I was brought here to do.” Jongdae put his head in his hands as he thought of how much of a failure he was.</p><p>“It isn’t good to stress like this, Jongdae. Stress does not help someone get pregnant. You need to relax, enjoy the time it takes to get pregnant. Your body will eventually listen.” Yixing smiled before they heard a small knock on the door.</p><p>“Yes?” Yixing got up to answer the door and saw a concerned looking king on the other side.</p><p>“So? Any news?” The King asked as he looked between the doctor and Jongdae.</p><p>“Sorry, King Xiumin. No pregnancy yet.” The doctor bowed slightly in apology.</p><p>“Oh.” The King's face hardened and it was hard to read what his expression was saying. “Thank you for letting me know. I'll see you later Jongdae.” The King replied curtly before turning on his heel and leaving.</p><p>Jongdae released a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he stood from the table. “Thank you again Yixing. I'll see you again in a few weeks.” Jongdae replied as he left the office.</p><p>~</p><p>It was the late afternoon by the time Jongdae had finished yet another book in the library. The weather outside had been getting colder so it wasn’t as enjoyable to be outside in the gardens so Jongdae had resided to learning as much as he could from the library.</p><p>Jongdae was passing a meeting room in the castle when a group of voices caught his attention.</p><p>“He still isn’t pregnant?” Jongdae could tell it was Junmeyon’s voice which wasn’t surprising, since he was the king's advisor and needed to know these things.</p><p>“Yes. And I don’t know how much longer I can wait. The other kingdoms are still getting aggressive about my lack of an heir.” Jongdae knew Minseok's voice right away.</p><p>“Well, what are you going to do? These things take time. They can’t expect it to happen right away.” Junmeyon offered.</p><p>“Well, I think it’s a good think it's taking so long. Means more time until you kill him.” Jongdae gasped when he heard Chanyeol's voice speak so venomously.</p><p>Kill him? Minseok was going to kill him after he gave him an heir? Jongdae felt his heart stop for a second, and his breath stuck in his throat.</p><p>Jongdae couldn’t even listen to the group anymore before running from the castle trying to clear his head.</p><p>“I'm not going to kill him!” the King spit out surprising both Junmeyon and Chanyeol.</p><p>“You aren’t? But that was your plan the whole time.” Chanyeol asked, confused as his heart beat faster in hope.</p><p>“I know I said that originally, but after getting to know Jongdae I can’t do that to him. He doesn’t deserve it.” Xiumin sighed as he sat at the table.</p><p>“So what are you going to do if and when he gives you an heir?” Junmeyon asked hopefully.</p><p>“I-I don’t know yet. I haven’t decided.” Xiumin himself was still trying to think through his thoughts on what to do with Jongdae, but he knew he couldn’t give up the other so easily.</p><p>~</p><p>By the time dinner was served Jongdae had cooled down enough to be able to sit across from the King, but his mind was never fully with him. He could hear people talking around him, some even to him, but he couldn’t muster any words to answer them.</p><p>After dinner was over the King stated he had a meeting right after and would be coming to bed later. Jongdae nodded unconsciously before heading to their bedroom.</p><p>When Jongdae entered the lavish room, he realized how alone he really was in the large castle. He had gotten close with many of the servants and advisors in the castle, but he knew all of them had a deeper loyalty to the King than they did to some peasant brought there only a month before.</p><p>After about an hour of sitting in silence Jongdae decided to take a hot bath since he was still freezing from his evening outside.</p><p>Jongdae drew his bath and put rose petals inside before sliding into the warm water. He let the warm water envelop him and let his mind relax from the day. Regardless of what he heard, he was still there for a duty and no matter the outcome he felt bound to carry it out. He wanted to give an heir to the King, it was an honor he couldn’t deny, and whatever the King decided after he carried out his duty he would take as any other obligation.</p><p>Jongdae heard the door to the bedroom open and heard Minseok walking toward the bathroom.</p><p>“Are you in there Jongdae?” Minseok asked as he knocked on the door lightly.</p><p>“Yes. I'm just taking a bath.” Jongdae replied as he played with some of the rose petals in the water.</p><p>The bathroom door opened, and Jongdae watched as Minseok entered and began taking his own clothes off.</p><p>“I'll join you. I need a nice bath after today.” The king continued. Soon Jongdae scooted forward in the bath so Xiumin could slide in behind him.</p><p>“Mmm. This feels nice.” Minseok hummed as he wrapped his arms around Jongdae's waist. “The weather’s been getting much colder these days. A warm bath is perfect.”</p><p>Jongdae hummed in reply as he laid against Minseok's chest trying to stop his mind from running a mile a minute.</p><p>“Is something wrong Jongdae?” Minseok could tell Jongdae was not his usual bubbly self.</p><p>“I-I don’t know. I-I’m sorry.” Jongdae felt his chest tighten.</p><p>“Why are you sorry? You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Minseok rubbed a soothing hand on Jongdae's thigh.</p><p>“I'm sorry because I'm not pregnant yet. I haven’t been able to do my duty to you, and I'm sorry because I heard you in a meeting this afternoon.” Jongdae replied, and Minseok's hand froze at the mention of a meeting.</p><p>“W-what meeting?” Minseok's mind reeled to the meeting he had with Junmeyon and Chanyeol, and he felt his heart stop when he knew what was discussed.</p><p>“I heard you with Junmeyon and Chanyeol. About what your plan is once you have an heir. I know you plan to dispose of me once I complete my duty.” Jongdae felt his eyes burn with tears thinking of his own demise.</p><p>“T-that’s not true!” Minseok tried to argue as he turned Jongdae in his lap so he was facing him.</p><p>“It's okay, Minseok.” Jongdae replied feeling his heart tighten as he stared at the King. “I’ve accepted it. It is just another part of my duties. If that is what you need from me, to disappear after I give you an heir, I have accepted it. You know what is best for this kingdom, and I will obey.” Jongdae felt the tears slide down his face, but he didn’t take his eyes off the King.</p><p>“That isn’t true anymore! Listen to me, Jongdae.” Minseok rubbed his thumbs over Jongdae's cheeks to wipe away the tears. “Yes, that was the original plan but actually meeting you, spending this last month with you, I knew I couldn’t do that to someone as special as you.” Minseok finished quietly.</p><p>“W-what do you mean?” Jongdae tried to process the King's words.</p><p>“It mean I’m not going to kill you. You are safe here with me. I want you to be here for a long time.” Minseok sighed as he saw Jongdae's face relax into one of surprise.</p><p>“R-really?” Jongdae couldn’t help the smile on his face not only that he wasn’t going to be killed but that the King actually enjoyed his presence around him.</p><p>Minseok didn’t reply, instead crashing his lips onto Jongdae’s pulling the other closer to him until their bodies were pressed together.</p><p>Jongdae moaned into the kiss when he felt Minseok's hands slide down his back to grab his ass massaging the flesh.</p><p>Minseok began to kiss down Jongdae's neck sucking the skin softly before putting a finger at his entrance. Jongdae was still stretched out from their constant sex so Minseoks finger slipped in easily, and Jongdae moaned at the intrusion.</p><p>Jongdae threaded his fingers through Minseok's hair as he felt the other slip three fingers in, easily grinding back on the digits to get more friction.</p><p>“Someone want something bigger?” Minseok teased as he moved his fingers in and out of Jongdae at a steady pace.</p><p>“Y-yes. Please, Minseok. More.” Jongdae moaned when he knew the others fingers were not enough.</p><p>Minseok smirked before adjusting their positions so he could line himself up with Jongdae's entrance.</p><p>Jongdae held his breath as he felt the intrusion of Minseok's cock, moaning as he felt the elder fill him up.</p><p>“You like feeling me fill you up? Filling you so deeply.” Minseok husked as he pushed in all the way.</p><p>“Mmm. Yes. Yes. More.” Jongdae arched in pleasure as he began to move by himself on Minseok's cock.</p><p>Minseok took the hint and lifted Jongdae's hips up before pumping up into the other at a slow and steady pace.</p><p>“More, Minseok. Please.” Jongdae tried to move his hips faster, but the King had a strong hold on his hips so he couldn’t scratch the itch he needed scratched.</p><p>Minseok obliged by slamming up into the younger, moaning at the heat that engulfed him. Minseok set a rough pace pounding into the other as they chased their climax.</p><p>“M-Minseok. I-im going to-“ Jongdae could barely talk as he felt Minseok hit his prostate dead on, and he began to see stars.</p><p>Minseok took the opportunity to reach for Jongdae's own cock pumping it in time with his trusts before the younger came hard against their chests.</p><p>Minseok moaned as he felt Jongdae clench around him, and he soon came deep within the younger pumping him full.</p><p>Jongdae collapsed onto the King's chest taking deep breaths as he came down from his high.</p><p>“It's getting a little chilly in here, Jongdae. We should get out before we catch a cold.” Minseok rubbed Jongdae's back before pulling out of the younger.</p><p>Jongdae moaned in protest but knew the King was right. As soon as they had cleaned themselves up, Minseok got Jongdae dressed and got them both into bed.</p><p>“Yixing said not to stress about getting pregnant. He said it can hinder the progress.” Jongdae mentioned sleepily what the doctor had said to him earlier that day.</p><p>“I'm not stressing. It will happen. I know it will.” Minseok smiled as he watched Jongdae close his eyes. Soon Minseok could hear the shallow breaths from Jongdae and knew the other was sleeping. “It will happen.” Minseok repeated before kissing Jongdae's forehead and settling into his own sleep.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongdae awoke to an empty bed, and he frowned at the cold sheets he felt under his hand. It had been almost a month since Jongdae had found out about Minseok's original plan for him. They had talked through their confusion on the situation and their relationship had grown much deeper than before. Jongdae felt they had become much closer with each passing day.</p><p>As Jongdae sat up to get ready he felt like his body ached all over. He knew it wasn’t from the sex the night before, but something just felt off. As Jongdae stood to get changed he was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea and ran to the bathroom before throwing up until nothing was left in his stomach.</p><p>As Jongdae washed his mouth out he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked a little sickly as his face was pale and his eyes had small dark circles under them, but he didn’t feel like he had a fever. Maybe he just had a cold since the seasons were changing.</p><p>As Jongdae left for breakfast he was greeted with a mostly empty dining hall with only the servants standing around the room.</p><p>Jongdae was served his breakfast, but there still wasn’t anyone else coming to the dinning hall.</p><p>“Um. Excuse me. Where is everyone?” Jongdae asked one of the butlers who was serving him more food.</p><p>“I'm sorry, Jongdae. The King left with Junmeyon and Chanyeol on an urgent meeting to a nearby village this morning. I don’t know when they will be back.” The butler offered a sad smile.</p><p>“Oh. Thank you.” Jongdae nodded before going back to his meal. Luckily his morning’s nausea had gone away, and he was able to hold down his food.</p><p>When Jongdae had finished eating he decided to go back to the bedroom to maybe lie down and see if it would help him feel better. When he arrived at the bedroom, he noticed a letter on his nightstand that he had missed that morning.</p><p>Jongdae could tell it was from Minseok from the handwriting and opening it up, he saw a short letter addressed to him. It stated what the butler had told him but also said he would be back in about three days and that the King found out about the emergency trip in the middle of the night which is why he didn’t say anything before leaving.</p><p>Jongdae sighed but felt better that Minseok would be back soon. He had gotten so close with the king, it felt weird to be by himself for more than a few hours.</p><p>Jongdae placed the letter down and laid in bed trying to get some more sleep, and soon enough he was able to fall asleep. When he awoke a few hours later though, he felt that same wave of nausea as he had that morning. Luckily Jongdae was able to keep his breakfast down, but he decided to go to see Yixing to see if he would be able to give him something to feel better.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae knocked on the door to the doctors quarters and heard a small ‘come in’ before he opened the door.</p><p>“Yixing?” Jongdae saw the doctor sitting at his desk reading some papers by a candle.</p><p>“Jongdae? What’s up? Our next testing day isn’t until next week.” The doctor looked at his notes making sure he got the date right.</p><p>“No, I know. I am actually not feeling well today. My body’s been very achy, and I have felt nauseous since I woke up. I just wanted to see if you had something to make me feel better?” Jongdae walked into the office and sat on the table.</p><p>“Oh?” The doctor paused as he listened to Jongdae's symptoms. “Okay. Well, let me just do a full examination anyways. Can’t have the King's bride feeling any sickness. Is that okay?” Yixing began to take out all the tools he needed for his normal examination.</p><p>“That’s okay. Not like it's anything new.” Jongdae joked as he began to undress for his exam.</p><p>When the exam was over, Jongdae still felt slightly nauseous and achy so he hoped the doctor would be able to do something for him, but he waited patiently for his results.</p><p>When Yixing came back in he was smiling brightly at the other.</p><p>“Well. I am pleased to say you are not sick but in fact pregnant.” Yixing finished smiling brightly.</p><p>“W-what.” Jongdae paused as he took in what the doctor just told him. “I-I’m pregnant?” Jongdae spoke aloud and covered his mouth as if he just said something he shouldn’t have.</p><p>“Yes, you are. I can’t tell how far along you are exactly but I would guess a few weeks at this point. We will know more when you get further along. Should we tell the King?” Yixing couldn’t help the happiness he felt as he told Jongdae.</p><p>“O-oh um. Min-I mean Xiumin isn’t here currently. He had an urgent trip and won’t be back for a few days.” Jongdae began thinking of how he should tell the King.</p><p>“Should we send a letter to him? I'm sure he would come back right away.” The doctor offered.</p><p>“No! We shouldn’t disrupt his visit. I'll still be pregnant when he gets back here. And I want to be the one to tell him.” Jongdae looked at his hands nervously.</p><p>“Okay.” Yixing smiled. “I won’t tell a soul.”</p><p>Jongdae bowed in appreciation of the doctor before being on his way. Yixing had given him some tips on how to help with the nausea and some medicine to help him sleep better at night to hopefully help his achy body. As Jongdae headed back to his bedroom he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face.</p><p>~</p><p>It had been two days since Minseok had left, but the king wasn’t due back for another day, and Jongdae realized how lonely he was without the other. Although they spent most days apart doing their own activities, he always looked forward to spending the nights talking about what they had done that day or just laying in each other’s arms.</p><p>Jongdae realized how much Minseok kept bottled up with his position as King. Jongdae felt like the King could relax when he was with him, and he was glad he could be that person for the king, and that the King was someone he felt comfortable with as well. It made these few days of separation that much worse.</p><p>Jongdae had gotten less nauseous and achy over the days but was still tired most of the time and he hoped that didn’t stay around his whole pregnancy or he didn’t know what he would do if he slept most of his days away.</p><p>Jongdae had decided to spend the day in the library catching up on a series of books he was really into, and at this point he would do anything to get the day to pass as quickly as possible. By the time Jongdae had finished his last book, he realized it was already dinner time, so he rushed to get to the dining hall before the food got cold.</p><p>When Jongdae got to the dining hall though he was surprised to see other people inside, most excitingly Minseok, who was sitting at his usual spot sipping his water as he chatted with Junmeyon and Chanyeol.</p><p>“Minseok!” Jongdae ran towards the other who stood in surprise at the outburst. Jongdae dashed into his arms, almost knocking the King over who laughed and rubbed the others back soothingly.</p><p>“Hi, Jongdae. Sorry I’ve been gone so long.” The King replied with a smile. Jongdae couldn’t help it as he leaned up and kissed the other softly on the lips before he heard some rustling behind him, and he remembered they were in the presence of other people.</p><p>“O-oh. I'm sorry. I-I don’t know what came over me.” Jongdae pulled away from the King with his head down in embarrassment before taking his usual seat.</p><p>“Where’s my welcome back hug?” Chanyeol teased from across the table causing everyone to laugh, and Jongdae relaxed a little at the joke but suddenly he was filled with the excitement of the news he had to share with Minseok.</p><p>Dinner had passed pretty uneventfully. The King explained that a village had a wild animal that had gotten into their food storage for the winter, so the king went to observe the damage and help refill the storage. It took less time than they expected and were able to make it back to the castle in only two days.</p><p>“That’s good that nothing more serious happened.” Jongdae commented trying to focus on the conversation but his mind was elsewhere, mainly playing every possible scenario of how to tell Minseok about his pregnancy. He knew the king would be excited, it is the whole reason he was brought there, but he didn’t know if he should say something now at dinner or wait until they were alone. He had kind of hoped to keep the news just between them, and Yixing, at least for a few hours so he decided to wait until they were alone that night.</p><p>~</p><p>When Jongdae and Minseok reached their bedroom Minseok instantly wrapped his arms around Jongdae's waist and rested his head against his neck.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Jongdae questioned, as he rubbed his hands over Minseoks.</p><p>“Yeah. I'm just tired. And I missed you.” Minseok husked against Jongdae's neck as he placed a soft kiss on the skin.</p><p>Jongdae shivered at the touch but held back the moan that threatened to escape his lips.</p><p>“M-Minseok. I have to tell you something first.” Jongdae pulled away walking away from the King and towards their bed.</p><p>“Tell me what?” Minseok asked confused as he followed after Jongdae.</p><p>Jongdae sat on the bed in silence even after Minseok sat next to him. Minseok didn’t push the other as he saw that Jongdae was trying to find the words to explain what he was thinking.</p><p>After a few more minutes of silence Minseok reached out and put a soothing hand on Jongdae's thigh.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Minseok asked quietly.</p><p>“N-nothings wrong.” Jongdae finally found his voice. “A-actually things are really good.” Jongdae finally looked up at the King and felt tears brim his eyes. “We’re pregnant.” Jongdae finally breathed out and Minseok felt his heart stop.</p><p>“W-what?” Minseok paused as he processed what Jongdae said. “What!” Minseok jumped up in joy before kneeling in front of Jongdae.</p><p>“Is that true? Are you really pregnant?” Minseok held Jongdae's hands in his and looked at him with pleading eyes.</p><p>Jongdae nodded his head enthusiastically. “I found out the day you left the castle, Yixing checked me out and confirmed. I made him wait to say anything so I could tell you first.” Jongdae felt a weight lift off of him as he was finally able to reveal the big secret he had been holding.</p><p>“Oh, I am so happy Jongdae. You have no idea.” Minseok stood and pressed his lips against Jongdae’s in a slow and loving kiss. “We need to tell everyone. Right away.” Minseok stood to leave the room, but Jongdae held his wrist in place.</p><p>“C-can we wait? I want just us to know. At least for a few hours.” Jongdae looked down embarrassed at his suggestion, but Minseok's heart swelled at the innocence he saw from Jongdae.</p><p>“Of course.” Minseok quietly berated himself for trying to ruin the happy moment. “Let's wait until the morning. For now, I just want to be with you.” Minseok climbed into the bed and ushered Jongdae towards him who gladly clung to the Kings side, resting his head on Minseok's chest, just listening to the steady beat of the others heart.</p><p>~</p><p>Xiumin awoke to the sunlight in his face and didn’t realize that he and Jongdae had fallen asleep soon after they had laid down as they were still in their day clothes.</p><p>“Jongdae.” Minseok whispered as he shook the other awake.</p><p>Jongdae groaned at being woken up so early, but his eyes snapped open when he realized he was laying in bed with Minseok, and the memories from the previous night came to his mind.</p><p>“M-morning.” Jongdae blushed as he tried to pull away from Minseok’s embrace but was trapped when the King wrapped his arms tighter around his waist.</p><p>“Where do you think your going?” Minseok husked as he nudged his head into Jongdae's chest and released a long sigh. “Stay like this a little longer.” Minseok begged, and Jongdae chuckled at how childlike the King was acting. Jongdae released his own sigh as he ran his fingers through the King's hair, feeling at peace in the early morning air.</p><p>After another half hour laying in bed, Jongdae sat up suddenly as a wave of nauseous hit him and he had to run to the bathroom to throw up.</p><p>Minseok shot up when he saw Jongdae run to the bathroom and followed the other inside.</p><p>“Jongdae. You okay?” Minseok leaned down and rubbed Jongdae's back soothingly as the other finished throwing up.</p><p>“Y-yeah. Just a little bit of nausea.” Jongdae sat on the floor taking a few deep breaths.</p><p>“Should we go to Yixing? Do you need something to drink, to eat? Do you need to lay down again?” Minseok was pacing the bathroom as he tried to think of what to do for Jongdae.</p><p>“I'm fine Minseok. It's just a bit of morning sickness. I’ll be fine.” Jongdae stood from the floor and washed his mouth out. “I had already gone to Yixing about it and he gave me some tips on how to help it, but it still hits me every once in a while.”</p><p>“O-okay. L-let me know if there is anything I can do.” Minseok rubbed his neck nervously as for the first time in his life he was not confident in himself to deal with something.</p><p>“What I really need is a nice shower.” Jongdae smiled when he saw how nervous Minseok was, and he thought it was cute to see the King in such a state.</p><p>“I can do that.” Minseok smirked as he began pulling off his clothes as Jongdae did the same.</p><p>~</p><p>When Minseok and Jongdae finally got to the dining hall for breakfast everyone else was already seated and eating their food.</p><p>“About time you finally got here. Little late to be getting up don’t you think?” Junmeyon teased as he took another bite of food.</p><p>“They probably had a late night.” Chanyeol added, causing Jongdae to choke on his food causing the table to burst out in laughter.</p><p>“I'm just teasing Jongdae.” Chanyeol patted the other on the back as Jongdae blushed at the attention.</p><p>“Actually. We do have some news.” Minseok spoke up when the table had settled down a little and all eyes turned to him. “We found out that Jongdae is pregnant.” Minseok finished, and the room fell into silence.</p><p>“Finally!” Junmeyon was the first to break the silence and soon the room erupted in cheers and applause from the table, and even the staff was clapping and cheering.</p><p>Jongdae was surprised by the reaction from everyone, but his heart swelled at the love he was receiving. He knew he was brought here for the reason of getting pregnant, but over the past months he felt like he was actually accepted into the family at the castle.</p><p>“You know what this means right?” Chanyeol nudged Jongdae in the side. “We need to celebrate! Let’s throw a party tonight. Everyone in the castle should get the evening off.” Chanyeol looked at the King expectedly.</p><p>Minseok looked around the table and saw everyone looking at him in excitement, but Minseok only saw Jongdae's face and how happy he looked.</p><p>“Of course! Everyone will get the day off today. I'll make sure the chefs cook something up ahead of time, and we will have a party later tonight.” Minseok smiled when he saw Jongdae's eyes light up, and his heart couldn’t handle the happiness of the other before him.</p><p>The whole day had passed as a blur as Jongdae was congratulated by everyone in the castle. He didn’t think he would get such a reaction from announcing his pregnancy, but he knew how important this was, he was carrying the heir to their kingdom, and the weight of that responsibility was both exciting and terrifying.</p><p>“Are you doing okay, Jongdae?” Minseok walked over to the other who was taking a seat in the ballroom.</p><p>“Yeah. I'm fine, just a little tired. Wasn’t expecting such an exciting day.” Jongdae laughed as he thought back to his life just a few months prior.</p><p>“Well, it is an exciting time. You don’t know how much this means to not only me but this kingdom.” Minseok grabbed Jongdae's hand and kissed it in gratitude as Jongdae blushed at the action.</p><p>“Jongdae! Come dance with us.” Chanyeol and a couple other guards called over to the bride as some of the servants had brought out instruments to play some music. Jongdae smiled as he heard the music that was being played as it reminded him of the village dances back home, and he couldn’t wait to go dance.</p><p>“Do you want to dance?” Jongdae smiled as he asked the King.</p><p>“No. You go. I don’t know this music anyways.” The King blushed a little as he was unfamiliar with the songs the servants were playing. As the King, he had only ever learned to dance to orchestral music at large royal gatherings and had no idea how to dance to the villagers' music.</p><p>“Okay. I'll be back soon.” Jongdae practically skipped away to join everyone in the middle of the ball room.</p><p>Minseok looked around the ballroom at all his servants and advisors and families of the castle and he couldn’t have felt more at peace. He was never one to want a relationship or a family, only if for duty, but the last months showed him what he was missing in his life. As Minseok watched Jongdae laugh and spin and dance with the other servants he couldn’t fathom how much a simple peasant could have changed his life. He would soon have an heir and more importantly he would have Jongdae, the love of his life.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jongdae sat on the doctors table as he let Yixing feel around his stomach. It had been five months since he had come to the castle and almost three months since he found out that he was pregnant. Yixing estimated he was around 12-13 weeks along so he was still fairly early in his pregnancy, but they made sure to have regular checkups to make sure things were going smoothly.</p><p>“I can hear the baby’s heartbeat perfectly. Sounds good and strong.” Yixing took the stethoscope away from Jongdae's stomach and out of his ears as he smiled at the other.</p><p>“That’s good.” Jongdae let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “So things are still going smoothly.”</p><p>“Everything’s perfect. How has your morning sickness been or any other symptoms I should know about?” Yixing was making notes in his notepad before glancing up at Jongdae in question.</p><p>“The morning sickness has almost gone away completely. Only been nauseous a few times but I’ve stopped throwing up.” Jongdae tugged at his shirt nervously though, as he had a question he really wanted to ask Yixing, but he was too embarrassed to.</p><p>“What else is going on?” Yixing questioned as he could tell the other was nervous about something.</p><p>“W-well. Y-you see. Um.” Jongdae paused as he thought how best to ask his question.</p><p>“Don’t be nervous Jongdae. I would think we know each other well enough you can ask me anything, especially as your doctor.” Yixing stopped writing notes as he looked at Jongdae waiting for the others response.</p><p>“O-okay. Well I guess the thing is.” Jongdae took a deep breath. “I am extremely horny.” Jongdae finished never taking his eyes off the lap.</p><p>Yixing let out a loud laugh, shocking Jongdae from his trance before he relaxed at Yixing’s joking attitude.</p><p>“Is that all? You shouldn’t be embarrassed about it, especially considering how we got in this situation.” Jongdae chuckled a little at Yixing's explanation, because it was true.</p><p>“And that is a completely normal reaction. Your body is producing more hormones than normal, and one of those is the hormones that leads to our sexual desire. I would be worried if you were not horny at this point. Have you and the King not had sex since you found out you’ve been pregnant?” Yixing inquired, and from the look on Jongdae's face he had his answer.</p><p>“Nothing! For 3 months!” Yixing was dumbfounded at the revelation as he didn’t know the King was able to hold himself back for that long.</p><p>“Well, we’ve done some stuff, but we haven’t gone all the way since Minseok got back and I told him I was pregnant. I think he’s afraid he’s going to hurt me or the baby.” Jongdae put a hand on his very small stomach.</p><p>“Well, I can tell you he won’t. Your body is more rugged than you think, and as long as you two don’t do anything too crazy, you will be fine.” Yixing smiled at Jongdae as he saw the other relax a little.</p><p>“W-well how do I tell him that? I don’t know if he would believe me.” Jongdae thought back to how the king would keep his distance at night and made sure not to touch Jongdae too much.</p><p>“Jongdae. If you are struggling this much, I'm sure he is as well. I don’t think it will take too much to convince him to have sex. Just tell him what I said and I’m sure he’ll take whatever he can.” Yixing laughed as he thought back to how on edge the king had been the last few weeks coming after anyone who questioned his ideas or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he knew just what the King needed to get back to normal.</p><p>“Okay. I'll try it. Thanks, Yixing. I'll see you for our next appointment.” Jongdae hopped off the table and made his way out of the office with a new resolve to get in the King’s pants that night.</p><p>Jongdae wandered around the castle for a while just trying to kill time when he ended up in front of the large windows that overlooked the garden. It was now well into the middle of winter and everything was constantly covered in a layer of snow meaning he had not gotten to go outside in a long time. He was now limited to the rooms inside the castle and while it was a large place, he had been to every room at least five times.</p><p>With Minseok busy everyday with his royal duties, Jongdae realized he had nothing much to do anymore. He was now pregnant, so his place in the castle was solidified, but he had no duties for himself. He didn’t know what he could even do. He was a peasant from a farming village and the only thing he could offer was the knowledge of harvesting seasons and when it was going to rain.</p><p>More than anything Jongdae was beginning to miss his family. It had been almost half a year since he left them, and he had not been able to talk to them at all. While Jongdae could read and write better since he had been at the castle and had access to the Kings massive library, his family did not and much like him they only had basic reading and writing skills, enough to function in the village. He wished nothing more than to see his mother again or hear how the harvest went from his father.</p><p>Jongdae was still deep in his thoughts when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.</p><p>“M-Minseok?” Jongdae gasped when he realized the King was the one behind him.</p><p>“What are you doing, Dae?” Jongdae blushed at the nickname the king had recently started using for him, but he shook his head. He couldn’t let the king distract him yet, that was for later.</p><p>“I was just looking at the scenery. Missing my family a little.” Jongdae sulked as he was sucked back into his thoughts.</p><p>Minseok looked at Jongdae's face and saw the sadness in the others eyes, and he was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. It had been five months since he forced Jongdae to come and be his bride, and in that whole time Jongdae had rarely talked about his family. Sure he had mentioned them when they first began to get to know each other, but he never once asked to see them or send them letters or brought them up again. Minseok had been so engulfed in his own life, in getting an heir, in making sure his kingdom was running smoothly, that he never fully paid attention to how Jongdae was dealing with all the changes.</p><p>“Have you tried writing to them? I'm sure they would love to hear from you.” Minseok offered as he turned his bride around in his arms so he could hold him against his chest.</p><p>“Even if I did, they wouldn’t be able to read it or write something back. They are like me and only know the basics for reading and writing.” Jongdaes sighed as he leaned into Minseok's chest. He felt at peace in Minseok's arms and let the sadness he felt release from his body with each second in the King's arms.</p><p>“I'm sorry, Dae. I wish there was something I could do.” Minseok rubbed his back as he helped calm Jongdae down, still berating himself in his own mind.</p><p>“It's okay. I know they are proud of me for being here. I know they understand.” Jongdae smiled up at Minseok, and the King felt his heart tighten at how pure and innocent Jongdae was, even when faced with such big changes in his life in such a short amount of time.</p><p>“Your highness?” The two men pulled away from each other when they heard Junmeyon call for the King, from down the hall. “Sorry to disturb you. We have a meeting to get to.” Junmeyon bowed to the two in apology.</p><p>“I'm sorry, Dae. I'll see you for dinner okay?” Minseok looked sadly at his bride who nodded in understanding.</p><p>As Minseok left Jongdae by the large snowy window, he began to form a plan in his mind that he hoped would make Jongdae feel more comfortable in his position as his bride.</p><p>~</p><p>By the time dinner rolled around Jongdae was starving. He had noticed his appetite had grown exponentially since he got pregnant and wondered sometimes if his small bump was actually a baby or just from him eating too much.</p><p>“I am starving.” Jongdae commented when he sat down in his usual spot next to Chanyeol and across from the King.</p><p>“Well you better eat as much as possible. Have to keep that baby growing big.” Chanyeol teased as he nudged Jongdae.</p><p>“Hopefully not too big. I don’t want to get fat and ugly.” Jongdae pouted as he thought about how big he might get.</p><p>“No matter how big you get you aren’t ugly. You will always be beautiful.” Minseok commented as he took a bite of his food, as the rest of the room stared at the King in surprise. Jongdae blushed at the comment before digging into his own food.</p><p>The rest of the dinner had passed rather uneventfully, and Jongdae was thankful for having some schedule he could always count on. Even if he wasn’t doing much during the day, at least he was still a part of the family in the castle when it came to mealtimes.</p><p>When it was time for them to head to bed, Jongdae was slightly giddy at the plan he had been thinking of all day.</p><p>“Do you want to take a bath first?” Minseok asked as they entered their bedroom before going to get his night clothes out.</p><p>“Why don’t you go first. I need to sit down a bit.” Jongdae feigned tiredness so that his plan would work out.</p><p>“Okay. If you're too tired you can just go to bed too.” Minseok walked over and kissed Jongdae on the forehead before walking to the bathroom. Jongdae smiled at the action before going to get his own clothes.</p><p>When it was Jongdae's turn to take a bath, he made sure to prepare himself a little as he didn’t want to waste any time later. When he left the bathroom, Jongdae saw that Minseok was sitting at his desk writing on a letter with his back towards him which was perfect.</p><p>“Are you ready for bed?” Jongdae called out as he stood a few feet away from Minseok.</p><p>“Yes. I'm very read-“ Minseok's words got stuck in his throat as he stared at Jongdae in front of him. Jongdae blushed as he noticed how long Minseok was looking at him that he became a little self-conscious of himself.</p><p>Minseok swallowed deeply as he took in Jongdaes attire. He was wearing a sheer white robe so he could see all of his skin underneath, but it wasn’t his robe that caught his attention, it was his underwear. Jongdae was wearing a pair of lacy red panties that he could clearly see his bride's hard cock straining against the fabric. His panties were attached to a pair of black thigh high socks and a bright red bow was tied around his thigh like a garter.</p><p>“U-uh.” Minseok's brain could not form words before Jongdae was walking towards him sliding his legs over Minseoks and wrapping his arms around the king's neck.</p><p>“W-what’s this for?” Minseok finally spoke as he grabbed Jongdae's hips to hold him steady on his lap.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Jongdae whispered in Minseok's ear before reaching down to kiss at the King's neck.</p><p>Minseok groaned at the touch before gripping Jongdae's hips harder, causing Jongdae to moan in his ear. “I mean why are you so sexy?” Minseok spoke against Jongdae's neck before sucking the skin softly.</p><p>“Because I'm horny!” Jongdae practically yelled before sitting up in the King's lap. “Its been weeks since we’ve had sex, and I can’t take it anymore.” Jongdae pouted before crashing his lips to the kings.</p><p>Minseok took a second to register what Jongdae was saying before he kissed his bride back just as passionately.</p><p>“I just don’t want to hurt you.” Minseok said breathlessly when they finally broke for air.</p><p>“You won’t hurt me. I talked to Yixing today. He said as long as we aren’t overly rough, we will be fine. My body is tougher than you think.” Jongdae smirked. “Plus these extra hormones are making me even hornier than normal, and I need you.” Jongdae breathed before leaning in for another kiss.</p><p>Minseok processed what Jongdae was telling him, and he realized if the doctor said it was okay, he wasn’t going to argue. “Okay. Your wish is my command.” Minseok husked against Jongdae's lips before grabbing Jongdae's thighs and lifting him in the air as he walked them towards the bed.</p><p>Minseok set Jongdae down softly, removing his robe, before leaning down and kissing his bride's neck, sucking softly trying to extract moans from the man below him.</p><p>Minseok wasted no time as he reached down and began removing Jongdae's lacy panties releasing his angry red cock already leaking with precum. Leaning down Minseok licked the tip of Jongdae's cock tasting the others precum before engulfing the other fully.</p><p>Jongdae moaned at the warmth around his cock instantly gripping the King's hair in pleasure.</p><p>“No touching for you.” Minseok paused his motion and took Jongdae's hands from his hair. “I'm going to make you feel good. You don’t need to do anything.” Minseok husked as he reached for the bow around Jongdae's thigh and unraveled it before tying it around his bride's wrists and putting his hands above his head.</p><p>Jongdae couldn’t even reply before Minseok's mouth was back on his body and he moaned in pleasure.</p><p>Minseok bobbed his head on Jongdae's cock trying to extract more precum with each pump as his hand traveled down to Jongdae's entrance. Minseok slid a finger past Jongdae's entrance with almost no resistance and paused his motions.</p><p>“Did you already prepare yourself?” Minseok looked at Jongdae confused, and Jongdae bit his lip before nodding his head. Minseok growled at the answer before crashing his lips to Jongdaes.</p><p>Minseok easily slid two fingers past Jongdae's entrance slowly pumping his fingers in and out as he swallowed the moans that escaped Jongdae's lips.</p><p>“M-more.” Jongdae moaned between kisses and Minseok obliged, slipping a third finger in with the rest.</p><p>Jongdae arched his back in pleasure as he felt the delicious stretch of his entrance by Minseok's fingers. His body felt so sensitive to everything Minseok did to him. His wrists, his neck, his entrance, all engulfed by the King's ministrations and his body almost couldn’t take it.</p><p>“P-please, Minseok. I want you.” Jongdae moaned out when he felt like he couldn’t take much more.</p><p>Minseok understood and removed his fingers before taking off his own clothes. Minseok aligned himself at Jongdae's entrance and slowly pushed past the tight muscle feeling the warmth engulfing him that he had missed the last weeks.</p><p>Minseok paused when he was completely inside Jongdae to give him a minute to adjust as he leaned down to capture the others lips in a loving kiss.</p><p>“M-Minseok. Move please.” Jongdae practically pleaded as he tried to move his hips for some kind of friction. Minseok instantly complied, pulling almost all the way out before pumping back in just as slowly.</p><p>Jongdae sighed in relief as he felt the itch he had had for weeks was finally being scratched and began to move his hips to match Minseok's movement.</p><p>Minseok groaned at the friction before picking up the pace as he felt Jongdae's heat suck him in with every pump.</p><p>“Faster, Minseok. P-please.” Jongdae grabbed the bed sheet above his head as he lifted his hips to make Minseok slip deeper inside of him. Minseok noticed and grabbed Jongdae's hips and lifted them up before pumping faster into his bride.</p><p>Jongdae let out a loud moan when he felt Minseok slam into his prostate, and he knew he was going to come soon.</p><p>“M-Minseok. I’m going to come.” Jongdae felt his vision get cloudy as the pleasure overtook him and he exploded between them, moaning with each pump Minseok gave.</p><p>Minseok felt Jongdae tighten around him, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer before he pulled the other up to sit on his lap. Jongdae wrapped his still bound hands around Minseok's neck as he moaned with each thrust into his overly sensitive hole.</p><p>Minseok captured Jongdae's lips into a kiss before slamming into his bride a final time coming deep inside him.</p><p>Jongdae groaned as he felt the kings come leak out of him, resting his head on the others shoulder as he came down from his high.</p><p>“I love you.” Jongdae's head shot up when he heard the King's word in his ear.</p><p>“W-what?” Jongdae didn’t know if he heard the King right.</p><p>“I love you.” Minseok repeated as he stared into Jongdae's eyes, searching for an answer.</p><p>“I love you, too.” Jongdae barely finished before he felt tears slide down his cheeks.</p><p>“You don’t need to cry. I'm sorry if I made you say that.” The king quickly wiped the others eyes before kissing his cheeks softly.</p><p>“N-no. I do love you. I do.” Jongdae quickly replied. “I'm just happy.” Minseok smiled at Jongdae's answer, kissing his lips softly.</p><p>Minseok removed himself from Jongdae before laying the other down and untying his wrists. Minseok left for the bathroom before coming back with a washcloth to wipe the other down and placed him under the blankets. Minseok walked around the bed and climbed in beside his bride before pulling him into his chest and falling asleep to the quiet breaths of the other.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So. Has everything been set in motion?” Minseok almost whispered to Junmeyon as they walked down the hallway towards their next meeting.</p><p>“Yes. Chanyeol has already left. He should be back in a few days depending on how the weather holds out.” Junmeyon whispered back and Minseok nodded, a feeling of excitement brewing in his chest.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae scribbled some more notes on the piece of paper in front of him as he skimmed over the book to his left. He wanted to make sure everything looked correct before he folded the piece of paper up and tucked it into his jacket excitedly exiting the library to find Minseok and Junmeyon.</p><p>It had been a month since he first came up with this idea and it was finally time to present it before the King and his advisor. Jongdae was nervous as he walked down the hall towards the meeting room because Minseok had no idea he was meeting with him today. When Jongdae had brought the idea of meeting with the King to Junmeyon, he had promised to keep it a secret it was him he was meeting with.</p><p>Jongdae pushed the meeting room doors open, which were heavier than they looked, and he was feeling more tired especially now that he was just about 4 months pregnant.</p><p>“Jongdae? We have a meeting in here in a few minutes. Do you need something?” Minseok stood from his seat and walked towards his bride offering a chair to him so he could rest.</p><p>“Actually, you are meeting with me.” Jongdae replied before pulling out his paper from his jacket.</p><p>“What?” Minseok looked at his advisor confused, but Junmeyon smiled and nodded back at him. “Um. Okay then. You can begin when you’re ready.” Minseok took his seat back across the table, next to his advisor, still very much confused as to why his bride needed to schedule a meeting with him.</p><p>“Thank you, your highness.” Jongdae felt weird calling Minseok by his title, but he knew this was serious business and wanted to be professional regardless of his relationship with the King.</p><p>“I have called this meeting because I want to discuss with you an education plan for the villages. Specifically village children.” Jongdae began, and he noticed the look of shock and intrigue in Minseok's eyes. Jongdae took a deep breath to calm himself before he continued.</p><p>“Since I have come here, I have noticed I was vastly unprepared for life here not just in my peasant upbringing but my lack in simple education in writing and reading. Coming from a small farming village there was no need to learn to read or write past what was needed to run a successful farm but being here I realized that is not enough.” Jongdae looked up from his paper and at Minseok, who had a face Jongdae rarely saw which was one of intense concentration and professionalism.</p><p>“The lack of universal education within villages makes it hard to leave the place one is born as no one is equipped to communicate with other villages, farmers, or even yourself, your highness. The lack of education also makes it harder for those who just want to gain more knowledge about the world or kingdom we live in, and while there is plenty of literature out there on our history, it is only accessible to the nobility and royalty who have the access and education to understand those books.” Jongdae was no longer nervous and was speaking directly to the King now.</p><p>“I propose a simple education program to be implemented to young peasants, at least until they are needed back on farms, to give them opportunities their parents did not have. I also propose adult educations for those who wish to have better reading and writing skills but are past the school age cut off.” Jongdae couldn’t read Minseok's face anymore, but he continued on with his script.</p><p>“I have done research into how our neighboring kingdoms deal with education, and I think using parts of their programs, along with changes that will fit our kingdom, this is a real possibility. Thank you, your highness.” Jongdae set his paper down and watched as Minseok's eyes grew dark for a second.</p><p>“What made you think of this?” Minseok finally spoke up, but his voice betrayed nothing of how he felt about Jongdae's plan.</p><p>“W-well. I first thought about it about a month ago when I realized I couldn’t even write to my own family because none of them may be able to read let alone reply to my letters. I thought back to my own childhood and how I longed to do more than work on my parents farm, but nothing else was an option. I also thought about the food drought form earlier this year. Had the farmers been able to communicate with each other they may have been able to plan better for having such a low crop yield. I know the farmers in my village always communicate in the village center about what to do each harvest season to ensure a good crop and that knowledge can be shared to others who may be struggling. I also thought that if more peasants could read and write, they may be able to reach you better, your highness. They could directly communicate with the king about their troubles and feel as if their voices are heard even if they are not able to travel all the way to see you.” Jongdae finished looking down at his hands in his lap as he held his breath, waiting for Minseok's reply.</p><p>Jongdae could hear Minseok and Junmeyon whispering to each other and writing on the paper in front of him, but he was too nervous to look up.</p><p>Minseok cleared his throat, and Jongdae looked up at him expectedly.</p><p>“Jongdae. That is one of the most well-prepared plans anyone has ever brought to us in one of these meetings. I think this proposal has a very real possibility of working out.” Minseok smiled, and Junmeyon clapped his hands next to him.</p><p>“R-really? You want to try this?” Jongdae was surprised the King accepted his proposal so quickly that he almost jumped across the table to kiss Minseok but held back as he knew they were still in a professional meeting.</p><p>“Really. Everything you said is absolutely correct.” Junmeyon offered. “Plus as you said, other kingdoms have been starting their own education programs. With our kingdom growing and changing, and more and more villagers not needed for farming as they were in the past, I think this is a good plan.” Junmeyon nodded in approval.</p><p>“And we want you to head this proposal.” Minseok finished, and Jongdae's jaw dropped.</p><p>“W-what? Me?” Jongdae asked dumbfounded. “I-I thought you would have someone more equipped to do it. Someone with more education and a better understanding of policy and stuff.”</p><p>“Well, we will have a committee created with people like that to deal with logistics but you will be the one to approve everything.” Minseok clarified, but Jongdae was still not convinced he was the person for the job.</p><p>“But why don’t you do it, your highness? I doubt anyone would follow what I say.” Jongdae bit his lip nervously.</p><p>“Of course they will. You’re the king's bride and the bearer of this kingdom's heir. If they don’t listen to you, it's as if they aren’t listening to me. Plus this is your vision, and you have first hand experience of what is needed in the villages. I can guarantee, anyone on that committee will not have the same experience as you, so you are the perfect person for the job.” Jongdae felt a little better about what the king was saying and it made sense. He knew what the villages were like. What they lacked and what they needed.</p><p>“Okay. I'll do it.” Jongdae beamed. Finally, he had a path to follow and something he was passionate about. Also something to keep him occupied while he spent his days in the castle by himself.</p><p>Minseok smiled as he saw how happy Jongdae was, and he was glad he was able to provide that for him. As much as he didn’t want his bride to worry about anything dealing with the kingdom, he knew Jongdae was growing bored of the same routine every day. Also, this was something Minseok himself had thought about before but never had a place to start and with Jongdae he knew it was something that could be done.</p><p>~</p><p>A few days had passed since his meeting with the King and his advisor, and Jongdae was fully immersed in his new position. He now had several personnel files to go through of various nobles and scholars so he could pick his own committee, and whomever he decided on, he was going to meet with them within next month to confirm their positions. Jongdae never thought of himself having such an important position, but he was so happy that he could provide something for the kingdom, well besides an heir. Jongdae chuckled at himself as he rubbed his every growing belly soothingly.</p><p>“Dae? Are you in here?” Jongdae heard Minseok's voice but couldn’t see him over the pile of files and books he had stacked around him. He had slowly overtaken the library as his office, but the King didn’t mind. He said he could use it however he wanted.</p><p>“Yes, Minseok. I'm over here.” Jongdae waved at the King who smiled brightly as he came around the desk.</p><p>“I just wanted to see if you wanted some dinner brought to you. I know you’re immersed in your work but don’t want you getting hungry.” Minseok leaned down and kissed the others forehead.</p><p>“Actually, I’ll go to the dining hall. I need to take a break anyways, and it would be good to get some exercise.” Jongdae stood and stretched causing his shirt to lift on his belly as it was becoming slightly too small.</p><p>Minseok smiled and adjusted the other shirt, rubbing Jongdae's stomach softly. “Okay. Let’s go.”</p><p>Jongdae and Minseok walked down the hallway in a comfortable silence when Minseok felt something against his hand. He looked down to see the other had wrapped his fingers through his, and the King smiled at the gesture bringing his brides hand to his lips to give it a soft kiss.</p><p>When they had arrived at the dining hall the room was filled with voices chatting pleasantly, and Jongdae felt very at peace as he took his seat.</p><p>“When is Chanyeol getting back?” Jongdae commented as they started their meal. He hadn’t seen the guard for a few days and was wondering if something bad had happened that caused him to be away for so long.</p><p>“He was just on a short trip. He should be back fairly soon though. Maybe tonight or tomorrow morning.” Junmeyon commented as he glanced at Minseok who nodded his head.</p><p>Jongdae was glad to hear it wasn’t anything bad, but he did miss the giant's silly humor that brightened his meals.</p><p>Just as the room was finishing their dinner, there was a soft knock at the door and one of the butlers went to answer it. After a second, the butler opened the further and Jongdae saw Chanyeol walk through the door, some snow on his jacket and his cheeks and nose slightly red from the cold.</p><p>“Chanyeol!” Jongdae exclaimed as he stood to greet the guard but froze.</p><p>“M-mom?” Jongdae couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched his mother, father, and all of his siblings follow the guard into the dining hall.</p><p>“Mom!” Jongdae sprinted towards his family, not stopping as he plowed into the arms welcoming him into a warm embrace. They were all slightly cold from the weather outside, but he didn’t care. He had never felt such warmth in such a long time. Jongdae didn’t even know he was crying until his father wiped his tears from his cheeks.</p><p>“Jongdae, sweetie. You need to calm down. It's not good for the baby.” Jongdae heard his mother's voice, and he leaned into her chest harder just wanting to feel her protection surrounding him.</p><p>“Mr. and Mrs. Kim.” Jongdae heard Minseok behind him and turned to see the King bowing at his family. Jongdae's parents and siblings instantly bowed in respect to the King, bowing as deep as they could. Jongdae had never seen the King bow to anyone before, especially not a peasant, and he knew his family was grateful to be in his presence.</p><p>“Your highness. Thank you for inviting us to your castle and for letting us visit our son.” Mr. Kim bowed again, and Jongdae spun around to face Minseok.</p><p>“Y-you invited them? Jongdae wiped his still teary face as he stared at Minseok in shock. Minseok just nodded back and smiled lovingly at Jongdae.</p><p>“He did J! He invited us to stay until the spring so we can be with you for a while!” Jongdae's sister exclaimed, excitedly clapping her hands.</p><p>“W-what?” Jongdae was still trying to process everything before Minseok interrupted his thoughts.</p><p>“We can talk about all of that later. Why don’t you all join us for dinner? We had almost finished, but we know you must be tired and hungry from your journey. We’ll get you fed, and I'll show you to where you will be staying.” Minseok gestured to the table, and Jongdae followed his family as they settled around the table and the butler brought out more plates of food for his family and Chanyeol.</p><p>“Thank you Chanyeol. Really.” Jongdae whispered to the guard who smiled back brightly. Chanyeol knew it was the least he could do for being the person to first take Jongdae away from his family half a year ago.</p><p>While Jongdae's family ate their food, they caught their son up on all that has happened in the village since he had left. Jongdae felt as if a weight was lifting from him as he was listening to his family talk about how good the harvest was for them and how his sister had gotten more business at her tailor shop the last months. He felt as if something that was missing from him the last six months had finally returned and he felt more than whole again.</p><p>Minseok watched as Jongdae interacted with his family. He could tell he had a good relationship with them, something he had never really experienced in his own family, but he was glad to see that Jongdae was smiling brighter than had ever before. Minseok wondered if this was what normal families were like, and his heart ached slightly that he had missed such experiences with his own parents, but he stopped when he thought about his and Jongdae's child. This was his chance to have that kind of family. To love someone so completely and unconditionally and share that love with someone who had his whole heart like Jongdae did.</p><p>After another hour, Minseok could tell their guests were becoming increasingly tired and he hated to break up the reunion, but he knew they all needed a good night's sleep from the excitement of the day.</p><p>~</p><p>“I can’t believe you brought them here.” Jongdae exclaimed when they were finally alone in their bedroom.</p><p>“I knew you were homesick, and when you said you weren’t even able to send letters to your family I knew I had the power to do something so I did. I hope it is okay that I kept it from you.” Minseok rubbed his neck nervously as he hoped it wasn’t too big of a surprise to his bride.</p><p>“Of course I mind!” Jongdae slapped Minseok on the back of his head lightly. “But it was the best surprise I could have asked for.” Jongdae finished as he kissed the King on the cheek. “Thank you. Truly.”</p><p>“I wish I had known about your secret too.” Minseok teased, referring to Jongdae's education plan, and the other blushed a little at his hypocrisy. “I just don’t want you to be too overwhelmed with your new position and your family and also taking care of yourself.” Minseok finished by rubbing Jongdae's stomach soothingly.</p><p>Jongdae chuckled as he placed his hand over Minseoks. “I feel like I can do anything now. With my family and with you.” Jongdae leaned up and kissed Minseok's lips softly.</p><p>After they had finally gotten in bed Jongdae snuggled into Minseok's, chest but he was still too excited to fall asleep yet.</p><p>“You seem to have a really good relationship with your family.” Minseok commented after a while of silence, not able to fall asleep yet either.</p><p>“Yeah. We have definitely had our bad times, but they are my family and I love them.” Jongdae sighed contentedly.</p><p>“I hope to make a family like yours.” Minseok voiced a concern of his for the first time out loud, and he quickly realized what he said. “I-I mean I just want to be a good parent.” Minseok tried to think of a way to change the subject quickly.</p><p>“What do you mean? Of course you will be a good parent.” Jongdae looked up at the King confused.</p><p>“Well, I didn’t grow up with the same type of family life you did. My parents were very much royal duties first, family time second, and I don’t want to be like that.” Minseok bit his lip nervously.</p><p>“I just don’t want them to grow up how I did. I want to be a loving family like yours.” Minseok rubbed Jongdae's belly. In only six short months Minseok had realized what love could feel like. Not only with Jongdae, but the unconditional love he felt for his child, something so pure and innocent that he wanted to protect with everything he had.</p><p>Jongdae stilled Minseok's hand on his stomach. “You will. I know you will. If I have learned anything about you these last months is that you are one of the most loving people I know. You care for so much more than yourself. You put your kingdom, your people, your servants, your bride, your child, above yourself at every chance. I don’t know anyone who could do that like you do.” Jongdae smiled at the King.</p><p>Minseok leaned down for a kiss when he paused. “What was that?” Minseok stared at Jongdae's stomach in surprise. Jongdae just chuckled at him and held the king's hand tighter against his belly.</p><p>“It’s the baby. They are kicking.” Jongdae moved Minseok's hand when he felt another kick. The King stared in amazement as he felt the little bumps against his palm from his child. “They know their daddy is close by.” Jongdae smiled as he watched Minseok mesmerized by the movement.</p><p>When the kicking had finally stilled, Jongdae realized how tired he was as he snuggled closer to the king's chest ready to fall into a deep peaceful sleep, when the king's voice awoke him again.</p><p>“Now we just need to tell the rest of the kingdom about the heir.” Minseok sighed as he snuggled Jongdae's head sleepily.</p><p>“What!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So the ball will be next week. We already have the guest list finalized, and the chef is making the finishing touches to the dinner so he will need your approval later this week. Other than that I think that’s all that’s left. Do you have any questions Jongdae?” Junmeyon finished his checklist for their meeting and glanced at the other.</p><p>“Um. I guess not.” Jongdae tried to follow what was happening in the meeting, but most of it went over his head. He had never had to throw a party before let alone one as big as a ball that neighboring royalty would be visiting.</p><p>It had been two weeks since Jongdae's family had arrived at the castle and he was more than excited that they were there, until Minseok dropped the bomb that they would be hosting a ball to announce his pregnancy and future heir for the kingdom. His family was more than excited as they were all for helping the castle staff as much as possible, and Jongdae was glad they could find something to do, but the looming date just gave him more and more anxiety.</p><p>While Jongdae's family and the whole castle knew about his pregnancy, they had yet to announce it to the rest of the kingdom, and Jongdae figured they would wait until the heir was born, but Minseok had pushed the importance of announcing it as soon as possible, especially for their alliance kingdoms to know.</p><p>“Oh. Also your parents replied that they will be able to come, your highness. They plan to arrive later this week.” Junmeyons finished as he started packing up his stuff.</p><p>“W-what! The previous King and Queen?” Jongdae felt his heart drop thinking about being in the presence of the entire royal family.</p><p>“Yes. You think the King and Queen wouldn’t want to come and meet the bride that is carrying my heir?” Minseok chuckled as he saw Jongdae's expression.</p><p>“I-I guess I never thought about it.” Jongdae berated himself for how stupid he was. Of course the old King and Queen would attend, this was their kingdom after all.</p><p>“Don’t stress about it, Dae. It will be okay. This is supposed to be a celebration.” Minseok kissed Jongdae on the cheek to try and calm him down.</p><p>Jongdae let out a sigh as he listened to Minseok. Of course this was supposed to be a celebration, a celebration of him holding the heir of their kingdom, that he would be representing the King, his family, and his kingdom to all their alliances around them, of course. A celebration.</p><p>Jongdae decided to take a walk around the castle to try and calm himself down and clear his mind before he dove back into party planning. His work on the education program in the kingdom was put on hold when his family arrived and the ball was announced, and he couldn’t wait until things had settled down so he could get back to something he enjoyed.</p><p>“Jongdae!” Jongdae whipped around when he heard his sisters voice and relaxed when he saw her skipping his way.</p><p>“What are you up to?” Jongdae smiled seeing how happy his sister looked.</p><p>“I was actually looking for you! I have been tasked with helping you dress for the ball next week.” Jongdae's sister grabbed his arm and pulled him with her back down the hallway, so much for a break from party planning.</p><p>“Why do I have to wear something so extravagant? I thought I would just put a nice shirt on and that would be good enough.” Jongdae watched as his sister walked around him pulling the clothes around him, taking measurements, and writing in her notebook.</p><p>“You are carrying the heir to this kingdom; you can’t show up in just anything. But don’t worry I will make sure it is as comfortable as possible. I just want to get the right measurements for your stomach.” Jongdae's sister stopped and started cooing at Jongdae's now prevalent belly. He was only four and a half months pregnant but if he wore anything too tight you could tell he was pregnant.</p><p>“I trust you. I know you’ll make me look good.” Jongdae smiled at his sister and was so happy that they could share this moment together.</p><p>“Okay. I think I have all your measurements. I should have this ready by this weekend for you to try on. You are free.” Jongdae's sister removed the clothes from her brother before shooing him out of her work room, and once again Jongdae was back to wandering the halls.</p><p>It was still hard for Jongdae to wrap his mind around that his whole family was with him in the castle. When they had time to catch up, his family told him all about their trip to the castle. Chanyeol had showed up to their village with a letter from the King. Jongdae didn’t know what was in the lette,r and his mom refused to show him so he just suspected it was about his pregnancy and inviting them to the castle. It had taken them a day to get their farm boarded up for the winter and get their affairs in order, and then they just traveled day and night to get to the castle as fast as possible.</p><p>Having his family with him even for only the last 2 weeks was like a dream. He didn’t realize how much he had missed them until he could freely come to his parents to catch up with them about what he had been doing the last six months or chatting with his siblings about the village gossip he was missing.</p><p>His family had also found a place within the castle already to spend their days. Jongdae's sister has been working in the royal tailors space almost since she arrived, playing with all the expensive fabric and picking the royal tailors brain about her work. Jongdae's younger brother was fascinated by the library just as Jongdae had been and has spent most of his time holed up there reading the many books available to him. Jongdae's older brother had taken a liking to working in the kitchen and seeing all the fascinating food that the royal kitchen could put out. Jongdae's parents had spent most days just exploring the castle or relaxing by the fires in the sitting rooms, something they don’t get to do often back at home even in the winter.</p><p>Jongdae didn’t realize when he had circled back to his room, but he decided he should try to take his nap. He was over four months pregnant now, and his body was feeling more tired throughout the day. Jongdae sighed when he laid in bed and fell asleep almost instantly.</p><p>~</p><p>“Dae.” Jongdae awoke to the soft voice of Minseok waking him up.</p><p>“Mmm.” Jongdae moaned as he tried to turn over to get another minute of sleep.</p><p>“Dae. It's time to get up. It's dinner time.” Minseok whispered in Jongdae's ear as he kissed his forehead.</p><p>Jongdae groaned again as he finally sat up trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.</p><p>Minseok laughed as he took in his sleepy bride before the other finally stood up to head to dinner.</p><p>~</p><p>“We were wondering when you were planning to join us. Thought you two may have gotten a little sidetracked.” Chanyeol teased as the two walked into the dinning room.</p><p>“Chanyeol! Be professional. Jongdae's parents are here.” Junmeyon smacked the back of the guards head who pouted at the action.</p><p>“Oh, dear. Nothing you say can shock us anymore, I mean our son is pregnant with the heir of the kingdom.” Jongdae's mother so helpfully added.</p><p>“Mother!” Jongdae felt his face heat up instantly at the conversation he walked into.</p><p>Minseok chucked as they sat down for dinner and watched the blush on Jongdae's face continue to spread.</p><p>Their dinner had passed by uneventful, but the atmosphere was something of a fun and loving family.</p><p>“What do you have planned for tomorrow, Minseok?” Minseok was shaken from his thoughts when Jongdae looked at him across the table.</p><p>“Oh. I actually have an errand in town so I'll be gone most of the day. Is there something you want to do?” Minseok thought about his appointment he had the next day.</p><p>“Oh? What errand? Can I come?” Jongdae sat up hopefully.</p><p>“No!” Minseok blurted out too quickly, and everyone paused their eating to stare at the King in shock. “Uh. I mean no. It's just boring royal duties. You don’t need to waste time coming along.” Minseok felt his heart clench as he saw the disappointment in Jongdae's face, but he couldn’t let Jongdae come with him.</p><p>“Oh. Okay.” Jongdae knew Minseok had important duties to attend to. He would just get in the way if he tagged along.</p><p>“Why don’t we do something tomorrow? You know what we should be doing, getting ready for the baby!” Jongdae's mother noticed the tense air in the room and tried to quell the energy.</p><p>“That’s a great idea!” Junmeyon offered.</p><p>“Yeah. The nursery hasn’t even been set up yet. We could get a few things for the baby.” Jongdae felt his mood lighten a little at his mother's suggestion.</p><p>“Yeah, why don’t we all go? We can look for some furniture and clothes and start putting things in place.” Chanyeol offered. “Is that okay, your highness? We don’t have anything to do tomorrow anyways.”</p><p>“Oh. Uh yeah. That’s fine.” Minseok smiled when he saw Jongdae was feeling better, but he couldn’t help the jealousy and hurt he felt that he wouldn’t be able to help set up the nursery, but he couldn’t miss his appointment. “We can all go into town together then.” Minseok smiled sadly.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae was excited for the day as it was the first time he had been able to leave the castle since he arrived. He hadn’t felt the need to leave the castle since everything he needed was there, but with his family there and his anxiety of meeting Minseok's parents and throwing a ball he needed to get outside for a bit.</p><p>Luckily it was still winter, and his long coat covered his bump very well so it wasn’t obvious he was pregnant. While it wasn’t that they were trying to hide his pregnancy, it would be better not to draw attention to himself.</p><p>“Is everyone ready?” Minseok was waiting by the castle doors as the rest of the group gathered together.</p><p>“Yes I'm so excited! I’ve never been to the noble towns. I can’t wait to see what kind of fabric they have!” Jongdae's sister squealed as she got her jacket on.</p><p>They had to take two carriages to the town for their large group, with Jongdae's family in one and Jongdae, Minseok, Junmeyon, and Chanyeol in the other. Jongdae had spent most of the short trip looking out the window at the passing scenery as it was so much different than his village. While his village was full of farms and a few lakes, the land around the castle was nestled between huge mountains and large open fields. Even with everything covered in snow, Jongdae could see how beautiful it would be in the springtime.</p><p>About a half hour later, they had arrived at the outskirts of the town and parked their carriages in an alley way so as not to draw attention to themselves.</p><p>“Okay. I have an appointment across town, and Chanyeol will be coming with me. You and your family shouldn’t be in any danger, but I still have another guard to accompany you as well, and you’ll have Junmeyon. Is that okay?” Minseok asked Jongdae as they stepped out of the carriage.</p><p>“That’s okay with me. I hope your appointment goes well!” Jongdae beamed before kissing Minseok on the cheek and running off to his family.</p><p>Minseok sighed as he watched his bride hurry off and felt the same hurt and guilt he did the day before.</p><p>“Don’t worry, your highness. We will take good care of him. And your appointment shouldn’t take too long. You can join us when you're done. I'm sure Jongdae would be ecstatic. Plus I think your appointment is a little more important.” Junmeyon winked before following after the bride.</p><p>“He’s right, your highness. This is just one day. You’ll get many more to help Jongdae prepare for the baby. And the sooner we get going the sooner you can join them.” Chanyeol offered as they began to walk towards the town.</p><p>“You’re right I know. I just feel guilty for yelling yesterday. I don’t want Jongdae to think I don’t want to help prepare for the baby. I just had this appointment already made.” Minseok sighed as they continued to walk.</p><p>“If Jongdae knew what you were up to, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He’s more understanding than you give him credit for.” Chanyeol replied. Chanyeol knew the King wasn’t much of a sentimental person, and for him to take this trip was a big step for him.</p><p>Not too long later, Minseok and Chanyeol arrived in front of the store they were looking for. Minseok pushed open the door and heard a tiny bell ring to announce their arrival. The store was small and unsuspecting and was filled with shelves and shelves of knickknacks and figurines made of a variety of materials from wood and metal and stones. Minseok and Chanyeol walked towards the wooden table near the back.</p><p>“Hello?” The King looked around but didn’t see anyone.</p><p>“Yes?” A man appeared from a back room before he saw who was in his store. “Y-your highness! Welcome.” The man bowed to the king. “I am so sorry. I lost track of time or I would have been here to greet you.” The man continued to bow in apology.</p><p>“No need to apologize. I appreciate you letting me come to your store today. Especially so last minute.” The king bowed slightly to the shop owner.</p><p>“Of course I would make time for your royal highness. It's an honor.” The shop owner walked to the front of the store and locked the door and turned the open sign to close.</p><p>“So what is it I can do for you, your highness. I don’t know what I can offer you that you don’t already have available.” The man chuckled as he walked back to the King.</p><p>“Actually, I am here to commission a ring from you. An engagement ring.” Minseok inquired as he looked around the store.</p><p>“An engagement ring!” The man exclaimed. “But you have all the jewels and the best artists around. Why would you want something so important done by a simple village artist?” The man was trying to wrap his mind around the King's request.</p><p>“Well you see. The person who will receive the ring wasn’t raised in a household like mine, and I think they would enjoy a ring made like that from their hometown much more than any jewel the royal vault could offer.” Minseok explained his reasoning. The shop owner thought deeply before smiling brightly.</p><p>“I would love to have the honor, your highness. Thank you for entrusting such a big duty to me. When do you need the ring by?” The store owner began to take out a sketch book and a pencil so he could take some notes.</p><p>“I need it by next week. There is a ball happening at the castle and I need it by then. I know that is not a lot of time, but I would really appreciate it if you could try.” Minseok rubbed his neck nervously.</p><p>“Oh that is no worry, your highness. I have no commissions right now so I should have enough time. Now why don’t we talk about what you would like the ring to look like.” The shop owner pointed towards his sketchbook.</p><p>After half an hour, the king had decided on a design that he thought Jongdae would love.</p><p>“I think this is going to be a beautiful piece.” The shop owner smiled at his sketch.</p><p>“Thank you again for this, really. And also if it wasn’t obvious, please do not tell anyone about this. It needs to be an absolute surprise.” Minseok stressed to the shop owner.</p><p>“Of course. Your secret is safe with me.” The shop owner winked. “I will have the ring delivered when it is ready, your highness.”</p><p>Minseok and Chanyeol bowed to the shop owner before heading back out into the town. It had only been an hour since they left the carriages which meant plenty of time for them to meet up with everyone else.</p><p>“I think Jongdae is really going to love the ring.” Chanyeol commented as the two started off to find the others.</p><p>“I hope so.” Minseok smiled as his mind wandered back to Jongdae.</p><p>~</p><p>“Hi. My name is Sehun. I am here to accompany you.” The young-looking guard bowed to Jongdae. Jongdae had seen the man around the castle, but he could tell he was a newer guard so he wasn’t really around him much.</p><p>“Nice to meet you Sehun. So should we get going?” Jongdae looked at his family, and they nodded their heads excitedly.</p><p>The group walked around the town center looking into the windows to see inside the shops. While they had similar shops in their own village it was easy to see that the towns near the castle had much nicer and more expensive materials and they all stared in awe at everything they saw.</p><p>“I'm sorry, Jongdae, but I need to look at this fabric shop. I have to see what kind of fabrics they have in this town. I'll catch up with you later!” Jongdae's sister barely finished her sentence before she was running off down the street.</p><p>“Sweetie. Why don’t you go with her so she doesn’t get lost?” Jongdae's mother asked her husband who nodded before kissing her on the forehead and heading after their daughter.</p><p>As they wandered through the town some more, Jongdae's brothers had both also disappeared down the different streets as several stores caught their attention.</p><p>Jongdae and his mother finally stopped in front of a store that seemed to have various furniture inside.</p><p>“This looks like a good place to start.” Jongdae's mother walked through the door as Jongdae followed.</p><p>The store was quite large and had rows of hand-crafted pieces of furniture everywhere. As Jongdae strode through the rows he was amazed at the ability of the artists to make such nice work. In his own village everyone made their own furniture if they needed something, so he had never seen such delicate and intricate work done before. In smaller villages functionality was chosen over aesthetic.</p><p>“How can I help you today?” A young-looking woman came over and looked curiously at the group until she laid eyes on the guards uniform and realized whoever they were they must be connected to the royal family. “Oh, I'm sorry I didn’t see you were with the royal family. My apologies.” The woman bowed politely.</p><p>Jongdae was taken aback by the woman’s actions, but from how Sehun and Junmeyon were acting this must be a normal occurrence for them when they go out in public.</p><p>“O-oh. It's okay. We are just looking for things to furnish a nursery.” Jongdae smiled brightly at the woman who relaxed at Jongdae's presence.</p><p>“Oh! Well, right this way.” The woman led them to the other side of the store which was filled with small bassinets and dressers and rocking chairs.</p><p>“This is perfect! Thank you. We will just be looking around for a while.” Jongdae's mother clapped her hands in excitement.</p><p>“Just let me know if you need anything!” The woman waved and walked away.</p><p>“Oh, Jongdae dear. These are so adorable. We never had anything this cute when you were all small.” Jongdae's mother ran her hands over the details on the bassinets.</p><p>“There’s so many. How do I pick one? I don’t know what would be more functional or which design Minseok would like. I guess I don’t know his tastes.” Jongdae pouted as he wished Minseok could be there with him.</p><p>Jongdae looked through the furniture and tested out how each one functioned and felt. After a half hour of going through the furniture Jongdae decided to test out some of the rocking chairs.</p><p>As Jongdae sat down into a chair he began to rock back and forth and felt how soothing the motion was. It had been a long morning and Jongdae was already getting tired, so he decided to just close his eyes a bit as his mother asked questions to the woman from the shop and Sehun and Junmeyon played with some of the bassinets.</p><p>“That looks comfortable.” Jongdae's eyes snapped open when he heard Minseok's voice next to his ear.</p><p>“M-Minseok?” Jongdae stared at the King in shock. “W-when did you get here?” Jongdae struggled to get out of the rocking chair, and Minseok had to help him stand up.</p><p>“We just got here. My appointment didn’t take too long, so we decided to try and find you. How’s the shopping been?” Minseok kissed Jongdae's cheek and, Jongdae blushed at the action.</p><p>“Well this is the only store we’ve been in. Lost half the family within the first half hour so it’s just me and mom. I didn’t expect there to be so many choices and can’t pick anything. I didn’t know what you would like.” Jongdae blushed again.</p><p>“I would like anything you pick. But why don’t we look? Okay?” Minseok asked and Jongdae nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>It felt so much better to have Minseok by his side as they wandered around the store. It had only been another twenty minutes before they had picked out most of the furniture they needed for their nursery. The bassinet they picked had beautiful carvings of flowers and nature and was dyed with paints to bring the scenery to life. They also picked out a wardrobe and the rocking chair Jongdae had napped in as it matched their bassinet beautifully.</p><p>“Where should we head to next?” Minseok asked as they exited the store. It would be a few days before their purchases would be delivered, and Minseok made sure to let the shop owner know that their visit was a secret.</p><p>“I saw a children’s store a few streets back. I think we should check it out.” Jongdae smiled as he walked arm in arm with the King.</p><p>“Okay. Let’s go.” Minseok smiled as he looked at Jongdae.</p><p>The children’s store had completely captivated Jongdae. It was filled with little toys and children’s books. What most captivated Jongdae was a pair of little baby booties that were smaller than his hand.</p><p>“M-Minseok. Look how tiny this is! Are baby feet really this tiny?” Jongdae stared in awe at the shoes.</p><p>Minseok chuckled before grabbing the shoes from Jongdae's hand.</p><p>“See how small they are compared to your belly, of course the baby is tiny.” Minseok laughed as he watched Jongdae hold the boots against his own stomach.</p><p>Jongdae next gravitated towards the books in the store, looking at all the pretty pictures that each had inside of them.</p><p>“We never had anything like this when I was born. It would be so cute to share pictures with the baby.” Jongdae commented as he flipped another page.</p><p>“Look at this one.” Minseok handed his bride another small picture book with a drawing of the royal family on the front. As Jongdae opened it, he saw it as a children’s book about the kingdom's royal family. It had drawings of Minseok as a baby and the previous king and queen and a story of the royal families of the kingdom going back generations.</p><p>“I didn’t know you had a book written about you.” Jongdae smiled up at the king who blushed a little.</p><p>“It's not really about me, but the Kings of the kingdom in general.” Minseok shrugged.</p><p>“Well, I think it's adorable. We should get it.” Jongdae smiled as he added it to their pile.</p><p>By the time they had finally left the store, it was already the early afternoon and everyone was tired from their long day walking around.</p><p>“Should we head home now? We can have the chefs make an early dinner for us, since we missed lunch.” Minseok rubbed his neck sheepishly for keeping his pregnant bride out for so long.</p><p>“Yeah. I think we are all ready for a nice night in.” Jongdae yawned as he grabbed for Minseok's hand, the pair of booties held tightly in his other.</p><p>When they arrived back at the carriages the rest of Jongdaes family was waiting outside talking excitedly about what they had seen in the town and how they already wanted to make another trip back out. Jongdae laughed as he listened to the stories of everyone’s adventures of the day and he was glad to have the day out.</p><p>By the time they got back to the castle it was closer to dinner time than they expected and everyone spent most of dinner filling their empty belly’s from the long day.</p><p>“Well, I think tomorrow will be a great day to just stay in and relax. I know I need it after today.” Jongdae's mother yawned from her seat.</p><p>“I know I need it.” Jongdae was already nodding off between bites he was so tired, but he had never felt so comfortable. He had never imagined his life to turn out this way but the happiness he felt with his family, his friends, Minseok, and their child was something he would never change.</p><p>Just as the group was finishing their meals there was a soft knock at the door of the dining hall. The butler went to answer it as everyone looked at each other confused at who the late afternoon guest could be.</p><p>The butler turned to the room as he opened the door.</p><p>“His royal highness the King and Queen.” The butler bowed as everyone’s silverware clattered to their plates and the previous King and Queen strode into the dining hall.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“That was a disaster!” Jongdae exclaimed when he and Minseok retired to their room for the night.</p><p>“It was not a disaster.” Minseok thought back to the earlier interaction with his parents and cringed. “Well it wasn’t as bad as you think.” Minseok chuckled, but Jongdae was not amused.</p><p>“I don’t think I can look your parents in the eye again. I'm too embarrassed.” Jongdae sighed as he sat on the bed.</p><p>Jongdae thought back to when he first laid eyes on the King and Queen.</p><p>
  <em>Everyone stood in attention when they laid eyes on the royal family and everyone bowed deeply in respect. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Mom. Dad.” Minseok exclaimed in surprise as he watched his parents walk into the dining room. “You weren’t supposed to be here until this weekend.” Minseok went over and hugged his parents. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We decided to leave a little earlier than expected so we could spend some more time with you and your bride.” The king replied before walking towards Jongdae. </em>
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  <em>“I suspect you are my sons bride, correct?” The king smiled as he placed his hand on Jongdae's shoulder.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s me, the pregnant one.” Jongdae blurted out before clasping his hand over his mouth at the absurdity he just blurted out to the former King. The rest of the room erupted in laughter, and Jongdae felt his cheeks heat up instantly. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I-I mean. Yes. T-that’s me.”  Jongdae tried to look everywhere but at the King. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It's so nice to finally meet you dear. I look forward to getting to know you more these coming days.” The queen joined her husband as she smiled at Jongdae. </em>
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  <em>“M-me too.” Jongdae tried to act normal as he bowed to the couple but in the process he bumped the table causing his water glass to fall from the table and crash to the ground. </em>
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  <em>“I-I'm so sorry. Let me clean that up.” Jongdae leaned down to grab the broken glass but in the course of his action, he cut his hand on the glass and gasped at the slight pain.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Jongdae! Don’t worry about it.” Minseok rushed to Jongdae's side and grabbed his hand to see the small cut on his palm. “I'll get one of the servants to do it.” Minseok replied as he waved one of the butlers over before grabbing a napkin to wrap around Jongdae's hand. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I'm going to take Jongdae to Yixing. Sorry we have to cut our introductions short but we are all very tired. I think it's best if we continue this tomorrow.” Minseok spoke to his parents. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, sweetie.” The Queen replied looking sadly at the nervous looking Jongdae. “We will see you all tomorrow.” Everyone in the dining hall bowed slightly as Minseok left the room with Jongdae making their way to Yixing’s office. </em>
</p><p>“How could I make such a fool of myself. In front of the King and Queen!” Jongdae flopped onto the bed rubbing his eyes tiredly. </p><p>“Its okay, Jongdae. Really. My parents aren’t mad. You don’t need to be nervous around them.” Minseok stroked Jongdae's thigh to calm him down.</p><p>“Easy for you to say! They are your parents, and you’re the King! I don’t stand up to any of you.” Jongdae replied sadly and Minseok felt his heart tighten as he listened to Jongdae's worries.</p><p>“I hope you don’t think I see you that way.” Minseok stated before he pulled Jongdae to sit up and pulled him onto his lap. “I see you every bit as my equal. Probably more than my equal. I don’t deserve you.” Minseok grabbed Jongdae's chin so the other was looking at him.</p><p>“You have given me the greatest gift I never knew I needed. Your presence has made me a better person and a better King. You deserve so much more than I can offer you.” Minseok spoke quietly.</p><p>“I didn’t think I could love someone as much as I love you. Or as much as I love our child.” Minseok paused to rub Jongdae's belly. “So don’t ever think you are less than us. You are more than we or I could ever ask for.”</p><p>As Minseok finished, Jongdae couldn’t stop the tears that brimmed his eyes from falling onto his cheeks.</p><p>“Don’t cry. I'm sorry I didn’t mean to make you sad.” Minseok shushed the other as he rubbed his back soothingly.</p><p>“I'm not sad. I'm actually very happy.” Jongdae wiped his eyes as he looked up at Minseok. “Thank you.” Jongdae finished before kissing Minseok's cheek softly.</p><p>“Why don’t we go to bed? I think everyone’s tired from today.” Minseok smiled as he kissed Jongdae's forehead back. Jongdae nodded silently feeling the weight of his tired eyes take over.</p><p>~</p><p>The next day Jongdae spent most of the morning trying to avoid running into the King and Queen. He had almost made it to lunch when he bumped into them unexpectedly as they rounded a corner.</p><p>“Good morning, Jongdae.” The Queen smiled at the other.</p><p>“G-good morning your royal highnesses.” Jongdae bowed to the King and Queen making sure he didn’t hit anything this time.</p><p>“No need to be so formal with us, Jongdae. You’re our son's bride! We are happy to have you in the family. I hope we didn’t scare you too much yesterday.” The King laughed.</p><p>“N-no. You didn’t scare me. I’m sorry for causing a scene though.” Jongdae looked down embarrassed.</p><p>“You caused no scene. You should have seen what I did when I met the Kings family for the first time.” The Queen smiled fondly at the King. “I spilled wine all over his mother.” She finished, causing them to laugh and Jongdae to stare at them in shock.</p><p>“Nothing could be as bad as that. So please, you can relax around us.” The Queen could tell Jongdae was a little less nervous hearing her story, and he was glad her past embarrassments could help him.</p><p>“O-okay. Thank you.” Jongdae bowed politely again. It was hard to break such formalities in front of the royal family. “I look forward to being a part of your family.”</p><p>The King and Queen smiled brightly as Jongdae said so, and Jongdae released a sigh of relief.</p><p>“Well, we don’t want to keep you from whatever you are doing. We are on our way to meet your parents for lunch. I'm so excited.” The Queen nearly jumped in joy before dragging her husband down the hallway, leaving a shocked Jongdae behind.</p><p>His parents were going to spend the day with the King and Queen. He never would have imagined. Jongdae chuckled to himself as he continued down the hallway.</p><p>~</p><p>“Will you quit moving around Jongdae. I'm almost done.” Jongdae's sisters smacked her brothers leg to keep him from shifting on his feet.</p><p>“You aren’t almost five months pregnant and been standing for over an hour. I'm tired.” Jongdae whined.</p><p>“I'm almost done so just hold on. I only have a day to finish this, so I want to make sure it's perfect. Do you know how many noble people and royalty are going to see my work? It needs to be perfect.” Jongdae knew this was a big deal for his sister so he kept his mouth shut and tried to forget how tired his legs were.</p><p>“Okay, done!” Jongdae's sister finally exclaimed and Jongdae turned to look in the mirror but was held by his sister's hand. “No! You can’t look yet. I have to make a few final changes. You will see it tomorrow.” His sister finished before starting to remove his clothing already.</p><p>“You mean I had to stand here forever, and I don’t get to see myself.” Jongdae groaned as he helped his sister remove his jacket.</p><p>“Yup. You will tomorrow. Now shoo so I can finish.” Jongdae's sister smiled as she collected the clothing, and Jongdae sighed before leaving the tailor's room.</p><p>The ball was finally happening the next day, and the whole castle was in a flurry trying to get everything done in a timely manner. All of Jongdae's family were busy helping the servants decorate or prepare food, and he was glad they could be useful. As for Jongdae, he had nothing to do. Minseok said he had nothing to prepare for, that he just had to show up which sounded easy enough, but Jongdae felt so useless as he walked around the castle hallways.</p><p>Jongdae decided to take a break and visit the nursery. All the furniture and knick knacks that they had purchased the previous week had finally arrived, and Jongdae had been in there a few times rearranging everything in the ways he liked. The nursery actually felt like home and he enjoyed spending a few hours each day inside, just rocking in the chair, reading the silly children’s books they got, or just taking a short nap as he hummed to his stomach.</p><p>When Jongdae entered the room he walked over to his usual chair that he had set up in front of the large window that overlooked the vast stretches of the kingdom. It was soothing for him to look out at the garden, even in the middle of winter, and he sat down trying to calm his nervousness for the next day.</p><p>Jongdae didn’t even know he fell asleep until he felt a hand rub his arm soothingly.</p><p>“M-Minseok?” Jongdae replied groggily as he sat up fully in the chair.</p><p>“Hi, Dae. I thought I would find you in here. I just came to say it's time for dinner.” Minseok smiled at Jongdae's sleepy face.</p><p>“Oh. I didn’t realize I slept so long.” Jongdae stood from the chair to follow Minseok.</p><p>“Are you excited for tomorrow?” Minseok smiled as they walked to the dining room.</p><p>“I think nervous is a better word.” Jongdae groaned, and Minseok laughed.</p><p>“You don’t need to worry. It will be a great day. I promise.” Minseok kissed Jongdae's cheek as they headed into the dining room. Minseok couldn’t help his own excitement bubble inside of him as he thought what the next day would bring.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae awoke the day of the ball to an empty bed. As he sat up he looked around but didn’t see Minseok anywhere, and from the coldness of the bed he had been gone for a while.</p><p>Jongdae gasped in surprise when he heard a knock at the door and padded across the room to see who it was.</p><p>“Hi, Jongdae! Are you ready for today?!” Jongdae's sister burst into the room not even waiting for her brother to open the door further, and she was followed by a few servants.</p><p>“Um, good morning to you too.” Jongdae tried to rub the sleep from his eyes so he looked somewhat presentable in front of the other maids.</p><p>“You’ve slept long enough, you can barely call it morning.” Jongdae's sister teased. “Minseok suggested letting you sleep as much as possible, so we only have a couple hours before guests start arriving and we need to get you ready.”</p><p>Jongdae looked at the clock by the door for the first time and saw it was almost 11 o'clock, and he was shocked he was even able to sleep that long.</p><p>“A couple of hours! Why would you let me sleep that long?” Jongdae began to panic thinking of how soon guests would be arriving and how unprepared he was.</p><p>“You don’t need to stress, Jongdae. Everything’s being taken care of, and that’s why I’m here.” Jongdae's sister smiled as she pulled out the garment bag she had with her that contained Jongdae's outfit.</p><p>“Now I had a maid bring you some food so take a quick bath so you can eat, and then we can get you dressed okay?” Jongdae nodded as he listened to his sister, and he was eternally thankful she was there to calm his nerves.</p><p>After Jongdae cleaned up and ate his breakfast, or more like lunch, his sister set to work getting him dressed. After he was dressed, his sister then began putting some makeup on him.</p><p>“Why do I have to wear makeup?” Jongdae questioned as he closed his eyes for his sister as she put some eyeshadow on him.</p><p>“We have to make you look regal. Trust me, all the royalty will have some on. Minseok even has makeup on.” Jongdae's sister continued.</p><p>“Really?!” Jongdae gasped as he thought about Minseok wearing any kind of makeup.</p><p>“Yes, really, now close your eyes again.” Jongdae's sister berated, and Jongdae smiled as he followed her instruction.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae played with the hem of his shirt nervously as he waited outside the doors to the ballroom. He was told he was to wait there until Minseok came so they could enter the ballroom together, but with each passing minute Jongdae became more and more nervous.</p><p>“There you are.” Jongdae snapped around when he heard Minseok's voice and felt himself relax as the king walked towards him.</p><p>Jongdae's mouth gaped open though, as he took in Minseok's attire. He was dressed in a dark blue military style jacket decorated with various metals and ropes adorning his shoulders, and he wore tight black dress pants that gave off the radiance of royalty. He also was wearing makeup like his sister told him, with just a subtle amount of eyeliner that accentuated his unique eye shape and a little bit of tint on his lips making them  stand out. The star of his attire though was the crown he wore on top of his stately styled hair. It was gold with a few emeralds and diamonds encrusted inside that glistened as the light caught them. He really looked like a king.</p><p>“You look beautiful.” Minseok smiled as he reached Jongdae and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Minseok couldn’t take his eyes off his bride and how amazing he looked.</p><p>Jongdae was dressed in a blue suit jacket that matched his military attire with a flowy white shirt underneath. The shirt was just flowy enough that it hid his still small baby bump but also emphasized his figure. He wore a matching pair of dress pants that hugged his legs comfortably. What made Minseok's heart burst in excitement though was the small tiara that he wore in his soft brown hair. It was a very simple tiara, most likely a gift from his mother that had an emerald that dangled in the center and a few diamonds around the base that complemented his own crown. Minseok could also tell Jongdae was wearing some makeup as his eyes were dusted in a soft red color that matched his tinted lips and he wore some blush that made his face look even younger. Jongdae looked regal.</p><p>Minseok snapped from his thoughts when he felt Jongdae tug at his sleeve. “Sorry what?” Minseok blushed a little that he was caught staring.</p><p>“I said, are you ready?” Jongdae chuckled as he watched the King.</p><p>“Yes. Let’s go.” Minseok held his arm out for Jongdae to wrap his arm around and he nodded to an attendant who was standing by the door.</p><p>The man opened the door and motioned for them to walk in and Jongdae took a deep breath before walking through the door.</p><p>~</p><p>The ballroom had been completely transformed since Jongdae had last seen it. The room was split in half with large tables for the dinner on one end and the open ballroom floor on the other. There was a small string orchestra playing soft music to fill the room, and the ballroom floor was already full of people mingling and drinking from trays that servants carried around.</p><p>Jongdae was only walking forward because of Minseok's arm that he was hanging onto, and they soon found themselves in the middle of the ballroom floor. Minseok traveled from group to group introducing Jongdae to each of them, and Jongdae tried to keep up with all the names and titles he was learning. Many of the guests were from neighboring kingdoms and Jongdae was surprised by how welcoming they all were. He had never met anyone from a kingdom other than his own, and it was exciting to meet so many interesting people.</p><p>After about an hour of mingling it was time for the dinner and all the guests headed to the tables as the servants began setting the plates in front of each guest. Jongdae and Minseok sat at the head of the table with the previous King and Queen beside Minseok and Jongdae smiled and bowed to the two as he sat down. While they had a weird introduction to each other, Jongdae had gotten to know the King and Queen really well and saw they were not as intimidating as he had first thought they were. In fact they had hit it off with Jongdae's own parents which he couldn’t have been happier for. Jongdae's family sat beside him each dressed in clothes they probably had never thought they would wear in their life, but they looked happy as they mingled with the nobles and royals sitting around them, and Jongdae relaxed as he saw them enjoying themselves.</p><p>The dinner passed peacefully and Jongdae was able to get to know more about the people at the ball. Many of them were friends of Minseok's parents and grandparents, and their kingdoms had been allies for many years. Others were nobles who had helped Minseok and their kingdom throughout the years. Jongdae could tell that Minseok cherished their alliances by inviting them.</p><p>About halfway through dinner Minseok tapped his champagne glass and got the attention of the whole room as everyone’s conversations died down.</p><p>“I'm sure you all are wondering why you have all been gathered here today. It was probably a surprise that I invited you all to a ball without giving a reason.” Minseok glanced around the room to make sure everyone was listening.</p><p>“Well, there was a reason, and a pretty grand one at that.” Minseok looked at Jongdae before reaching his hand out for the other to take and pulled Jongdae to stand up.</p><p>“I know there has been concern these last few years that I have not yet produced an heir. I know it has been a concern for many of our kingdom's allies and those in the kingdom as well, and I want to officially announce that my bride Jongdae here is indeed carrying the heir to my kingdom.” Minseok paused as the room erupted in applause and shouts of congratulations filled the air. Jongdae blushed at the sudden attention, but he knew this was the whole point of the ball in the first place.</p><p>“We plan to make an announcement to the rest of the kingdom and our allies by the end of this week and we will be preparing for the arrival of our heir sometime this spring.” Minseok finished as he bowed to the room before turning to bow to Jongdae himself.</p><p>Jongdae was surprised by the action until he turned to the rest of the room and saw everyone rise from their seats to bow politely at him. It was strange to have so many royals and nobles bow in respect to him and he felt his cheeks get even hotter. Minseok stood back up and kissed Jongdae on the cheek before motioning him to sit back down.</p><p>“Now please. Enjoy the rest of the evening in celebration.” Minseok raised his glass and everyone followed suit as the room soon hummed in conversation once again.</p><p>After dinner, there was a chance for more mingling and dancing as the orchestra played music, that the nobility excitedly took to the floor to join in. Jongdae decided to sit and watch for a while as he was getting more tired as the night wore on, and he didn’t know the music the orchestra was playing.</p><p>“Why do you look so down?” Jongdae looked up at Chanyeol who took a seat next to him at the table.</p><p>“I'm just tired. There has been a lot of excitement today.” Jongdae chuckled as he thought back to how everyone came up to him to congratulate him and coo at his small belly after dinner.</p><p>“I bet. You’ve had quite the day.” Chanyeol teased as he took a sip of the champagne glass he had in his hand. Jongdae had noticed most of the staff was now mingling around the dining hall enjoying themselves and Jongdae was glad that everyone was able to partake in the ball festivities in some way.</p><p>“Oh!” Chanyeol gasped, making Jongdae jump. “I forgot the reason I was here.” Chanyeol chuckled. “Minseok asked me to get you and bring you to the balcony.” Chanyeol finished before standing and giving his hand for Jongdae to take.</p><p>“The balcony? Why?” Jongdae didn’t notice when Minseok had slipped away, but he did notice the King had been gone awhile.</p><p>“I was just told to bring you.” Chanyeol held his hand out as he smiled in excitement.</p><p>Jongdae followed after Chanyeol out of the ballroom and to a side hallway that led to a great balcony. Jongdae hadn’t really explored the balcony too much since it turned to winter shortly after he arrived.</p><p>“Here. It’s a little chilly out.” Chanyeol grabbed a cloak that was sitting beside the balcony doors and placed it over Jongdae's shoulder.</p><p>Jongdae bowed at the gesture and walked through the double doors as Chanyeol opened them. It was a clear night and Jongdae was able to see the moon and many of the stars. It was cold enough he could see his breath, but the warmth of the cloak kept the chills at bay. Minseok was standing at the edge of the balcony looking out onto the gardens below.</p><p>“What are you doing out here? You’ll get sick if you stay out too long.” Jongdae scolded as he came beside Minseok and laid his head on the King's shoulder. Minseok chuckled as he kissed the top of Jongdae's head.</p><p>“I needed some peace and quiet. It's been a busy few weeks.” Minseok wrapped his arms around Jongdae as he swayed them to the muffled sounds of the orchestra.</p><p>“Plus, I needed to show you something.” Minseok pulled away from Jongdae who pouted at the loss of warmth.</p><p>“Show me what?” Jongdae asked curiously.</p><p>“Look at the moon. Look at how beautiful it is, and it just sits there watching over us. And look at the stars around it each one trying to shine as brightly as the moon but each still beautiful in their own way.” Jongdae looked at the night sky as Minseok talked, taking in the crisp night air as he listened to Minseok's words.</p><p>“If the moon or the stars were to disappear, the night sky would never be the same. There would be beauty but never like this. Even though both contribute differently they are what makes up the night sky, and one can’t survive without the other.” Jongdae smiled at Minseok's story, and it made him think a little about them. They were very different from each other, but they made each other better.</p><p>“That’s beautiful Mins-“ Jongdae's words cut off as he turned around and was face to face with Minseok kneeling in front of him, a small metal band in his hands.</p><p>“Kim Jongdae. Will you continue to be the stars to my moon?” Minseok smiled as he watched Jongdae's face change in emotions.</p><p>“W-what?” Jongdae couldn’t process what the other was saying.</p><p>“I'm asking, will you marry me? Will you become my real bride?” Minseok chuckled as he knew his analogy was pretty lame, but he wanted to say it nonetheless.</p><p>Jongdae didn’t know he was crying until he felt the tears slip off his face. “Y-yes!” Jongdae practically yelled as he jumped into Minseok's arms. “Yes, yes, of course I will.” Jongdae kissed Minseok's cheeks before wiping away his tears.</p><p>Minseok laughed loudly as he caught Jongdae in his arms. When Jongdae finally pulled away Minseok grabbed his hand to place the ring on his finger.</p><p>“I hope this ring is okay for you. I had an artist in town make it with aspects of your village in it. I believed having a ring that reminded you of home would make more sense than any royal jewel I could find.” Minseok finished as he kissed Jongdae's hand.</p><p>Jongdae looked down at the ring and saw it was a very simple band. There were three small metal bands with the middle one twisted in a way to give it texture but the design reminded him of the simple band his own mother wore, and he felt his eyes tear up again.</p><p>“Its beautiful. I wouldn’t want anything else.” Jongdae smiled before pulling Minseok's face to his, to give him a loving kiss.</p><p>Suddenly there was a roar of applause, and Minseok and Jongdae jumped back in surprise as the guests from the ball had peeked into the balcony from the hallway and from the windows in the ballroom, and Jongdae's sister came running to them to give them a hug.</p><p>After another round of tiring congratulations it was later than normal, and everyone was completely exhausted. Jongdae had to be practically dragged back to their room as his feet were so tired from walking around all day.</p><p>“I think today was a success.” Minseok smiled as he felt Jongdae hum in agreement as he leaned on him.</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t think it could have gone any better.” Jongdae smiled as they made it to their room. He was more than ready to go to bed.</p><p>“I know one thing that could make it better.” Minseok smirked as he turned to shut the door.</p><p>“Oh, and what would that be?” Jongdae questioned, but he had a pretty good idea.</p><p>Minseok smiled as he walked over to Jongdae before grabbing his face and kissing him gently. Jongdae smiled into the kiss as he let his hands rest on Minseok's hips.</p><p>It took them a minute to get out of their extravagant clothing before Minseok picked up and carried Jongdae to their bed.</p><p>Minseok attached his lips to Jongdae’s again before kissing down the side of his neck. Jongdae moaned at the feeling, tangling his hands in the King's hair.</p><p>Minseok wasted no time kissing his way down Jongdae's chest, stopping to suck on his nipples. Jongdae arched his back at the sensation, his nipples having gotten more sensitive throughout his pregnancy.</p><p>Minseok reached his hand to Jongdae's lips who sucked on his fingers obediently. Minseok removed his fingers before reaching for Jongdae's entrance. Jongdae could feel Minseok's fingers rub against his rim and he tried to push on to them to get some stimulation.</p><p>“P-please, Minseok.” Jongdae groaned as he felt overstimulated from Minseok sucking on his nipples and rubbing against his entrance.</p><p>Minseok chuckled before slipping a finger past Jongdae's entrance, and Jongdae sighed in satisfaction. Minseok wasted no time as he moved his finger in and out of Jongdae before entering a second time, feeling Jongdae relax with each thrust.</p><p>“M-Minseok. More.” Jongdae begged. It had been a long time since he and Minseok had had sex, and he didn’t know if he would last long.</p><p>“I need to prepare you first.” Minseok shushed the other before kissing his lips softly.</p><p>“I think I’m ready. Please, Minseok.” Jongdae begged between kisses. Minseok couldn’t resist when Jongdae begged him, so he kissed the other deeper before adding a third finger causing Jongdae to moan into his mouth.</p><p>“Okay. I think your ready.” Minseok pulled away after a minute before climbing between Jongdae's legs.</p><p>Minseok leaned down and attached his lips to Jongdae's neck sucking on the skin softly as he aligned himself at Jongdae's entrance. Minseok slowly pushed into Jongdae, feeling the heat surround him. Jongdae let out a moan as he felt Minseok fill him up completely.</p><p>Minseok paused as he let Jongdae adjust to his size as he kissed his neck and chest to distract them.</p><p>“Minseok. You can move.” Jongdae whispered into the King's ear.</p><p>Minseok kissed Jongdae's lips as he pulled out all the way to his tip before slamming back in. Jongdae gasped in pleasure before Minseok pulled out and pushed back in again.</p><p>Minseok grabbed Jongdae's hips and lifted them up forcing his cock to slip deeper inside him before hitting his prostate dead on.</p><p>“M-Minseok!” Jongdae gasped, grabbing the bed sheets in pleasure.</p><p>“Does it feel good?” Minseok smirked as he began to speed up his pace making sure to hit that spot inside Jongdae with every thrust.</p><p>Jongdae moaned in reply as he felt the familiar tightness of his stomach increase. Jongdae reached up and pulled Minseok back down to him so he could kiss his lips.</p><p>“Minseok. I-I’m close.” Jongdae moaned into Minseok's lips.</p><p>Minseoks smiled before reaching between them to stroke Jongdae's cock. Jongdae arched at the overwhelming pleasure before he came hard between them.</p><p>Minseok gasped as he felt Jongdae tighten around him. He grabbed Jongdae's hips again and pounded into the other as he chased his own release. After a few more pumps Minseok came deep in Jongdae who groaned at the overstimulation he felt.</p><p>Minseok collapsed on top of Jongdae as they both caught their breaths.</p><p>“Minseok.” Jongdae practically whispered in the silent room.</p><p>“Hmm?” Minseok hummed as he lifted his head to look at his bride.</p><p>“I love you.” Jongdae smiled sweetly, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness.</p><p>Minseok instantly grabbed Jongdae's face to kiss his lips and wipe away his tears.</p><p>“I love you to. I really do.” Minseok replied. “I love you both.” Minseok rolled to his side so he could lean down to kiss Jongdae's belly as well.</p><p>“And we love you. I hope you know that.” Jongdae placed his hand over the hand Minseok had on his belly.</p><p>“I do. I know you do.” Minseok laid on his side softly rubbing circles on Jongdae's belly until he felt the others soft breathing indicating he was fast asleep.</p><p>Minseok smiled at his sleeping bride before getting up to clean them both up. Crawling into bed beside Jongdae, Minseok snaked his arms around the others waist before falling blissfully asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>~ 2 months later</p><p>Jongdae gathered the papers on his desk before making his way to the meeting room. It had been two months since the ball and his engagement and things had calmed down substantially since then. His family was still with him, although his father and older brother had recently left to go plant the crops at their farm before they would be back before the baby was born. Jongdae had also been able to get back to his education plans for the kingdom which he was most ecstatic about.</p><p>Jongdae had spent a few weeks picking his committee for his program which consisted of some noble scholars, a teacher for the noble schools, an assistant from the castle's staff and Jongdae's own younger brother. Jongdae was not surprised at his brother's interest in his program as he had also been interested in education like Jongdae, and he was excited to hear his own brothers thoughts on what would work or wouldn’t work in the villages.</p><p>“Off to your meeting?” Jongdae jumped when Junmeyon walked up beside him.</p><p>“Oh, yes I am. One of our last meetings before we start moving things out to the villages.” Jongdae replied happily.</p><p>“Wow! I can’t believe it has already been so long that you are ready to start moving forward.” Junmeyon commented.</p><p>“Yeah. I expected it to take much longer but we feel confident that we can move past just planning. We know it will take a while for these plans to fully take hold across the kingdom but I'm excited for them.” Jongdae smiled.</p><p>“Okay, well I have my own meeting to get to. See you at dinner.” Junmeyon waved at Jongdae before rushing down the hall to his own meeting room.</p><p>Jongdae waved back as he reached his doors before opening them.</p><p>“Hello, Jongdae. How are you feeling today?” Jongdae's brother greeted him at the door before grabbing the papers from his arms and putting them on the table.</p><p>“I'm doing good. Feeling a little heavier nowadays.” Jongdae laughed as he rubbed his now visibly pregnant belly.</p><p>“Well, you do have a whole other human being inside you.” Jongdae's brother teased, before they took their place at the table.</p><p>“Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming today. Should we get started?” Jongdae motioned to the rest of the men at the table.</p><p>“Yes. I think we have a good meeting ahead of us.” One of the scholars smiled, his name was Kim Jongin, as he pulled out his own papers.</p><p>The meeting had passed quicker than Jongdae had expected with the long to-do list they had to finalize. They first had to settle on how to find enough teachers in the villages to be able to teach the curriculums they were creating. For now they decided that scholars from the nobles town would travel to villages and train teachers in their curriculum and help with the teaching for the first year. After that they would have teacher trainings in the nobles town when school wasn’t in session to be able to keep all the educators in the loop on their programs.</p><p>They then talked about their curriculums that they had worked on for almost two months for the schools for children ranging from 6-12 years old. They had decided the cut off for now to be around 12 years old, so that children could decide if they wanted to continue with school or help their families on farms or in the towns. Their program would also eventually include a higher education program for those who wanted to continue and easier access to the kingdom's only academy, but those plans would take much longer to get through. They also created a night school course for any adults who wanted to better their reading and writing skills. There was still a lot to do, but they had a much better feeling about getting basic education access to everyone.</p><p>“I think this all sounds really good. Our plans are solid and with your seal of approval I don’t think this would be hard to implement into the villages.” Another scholar, Do Kyungsoo, commented as he looked over the final plans.</p><p>Since his pregnancy was announced to the greater kingdom, Jongdae had gotten a lot of attention and all of it good. The villagers were happy to see someone like them in the castle besides the King, and the nobles were always entranced by Jongdae's good natured attitude and his care for everyone in their kingdom.</p><p>“Yes. I think this sounds really good. How soon do you think it will take to get this implemented out?” Jongdae turned to the castle aid he had on his committee, a man named Byun Baekhyun, who had worked under Junmeyon for years and was well versed in how to organize these types of things.</p><p>“I think within the next month all of these can be dispersed to the villages. Maybe sooner if we wanted.” Baekhyun made some notes before looking up at Jongdae.</p><p>“I think a month is plenty of time, if not more. What do you think?” Jongdae turned to his brother.</p><p>“I think a month would be good. We have to think about what the villages are doing right now. It is planting season right now and in a few short months it will be harvesting season. I think it's best if we bring this to the villages now so they have time to look it over and get the villagers to agree to it but we shouldn’t start the schools until the end of harvest season or villagers may not be as eager to agree.” Jongdae's brother finished and everyone nodded in agreement.</p><p>Baekhyun jotted down some more notes before nodding at Jongdae.</p><p>“Well, I think that is the end of our meeting then. Thank you all again so much for all you have done. We will probably meet again in about a month before everything goes out.” Jongdae bowed to the others before struggling to stand up.</p><p>Everyone said their goodbyes and Jongdae made his way toward his office, a nice cozy little nook Minseok had set aside for him near the library, to drop off his papers before he had to head to Yixing for another checkup.</p><p>“Hi, Jongdae. How are you feeling today?” Yixing greeted the other when he walked into his office.</p><p>“I'm getting more tired, but other than that I'm fine. Except I feel huge.” Jongdae pouted as he looked down at his stomach.</p><p>“You are not huge. You only have a few extra pounds on you.” Yixing laughed as Jongdae got settled on his table.</p><p>“A few extra pounds sure feels like a hundred.” Jongdae laughed.</p><p>Yixing got to work checking Jongdae and his baby out. Checking their heart rates and blood pressure and feeling his belly.</p><p>“Well, everything seems to be good. The baby sounds strong and healthy.” Yixing smiled as he wrote down his notes.</p><p>“Well that’s good. I'm hoping these last few months will go by quickly. I want to meet them so badly.” Jongdae rubbed his stomach soothingly. “Also, I’m getting sick of being pregnant.” Jongdae finished causing Yixing to laugh.</p><p>“Well, only a few more weeks left. I suggest after our next meeting you take things slower. It would be good not to put your body through too much stress the last few weeks of your pregnancy.” Yixing added, and Jongdae nodded in understanding. “Okay, well that’s all I have for you. I'll see you in a few weeks.” Yixing smiled as Jongdae made his way out of his office.</p><p>It was still a few hours before dinner so Jongdae decided he would head outside to the garden to get some fresh air. Jongdae was so glad it was finally springtime as he was able to head outside more often. The gardens weren’t as beautiful as they were in the fall, but he loved watching the world come alive after the long winter months.</p><p>Jongdae headed to the bench he normally occupied nestled between some cherry blossom trees that were just beginning to show they were alive again.</p><p>Jongdae closed his eyes and took in the crisp spring air letting it relax him before he felt a presence in front of him. Jongdae peeked his eyes open and saw Minseok standing before him.</p><p>“Hi, Minseok. What are you doing out here?” Jongdae smiled as he reached for the Kings arm and pulled him down to sit next to him.</p><p>“I finished my meeting and saw you sitting out here. Thought I would join you.” Minseok smiled when he felt Jongdae put his head on his shoulder.</p><p>“Do you have anything else today?” Jongdae questioned as he leaned closer to the King.</p><p>“Nope. I'm done for the day.” Minseok began stroking Jongdae's arm soothingly.</p><p>“Good. Stay here with me.” Jongdae almost whispered as he let the comfort of Minseok next to him overtake him.</p><p>Minseok and Jongdae sat in silence for a while just letting the comfort of each other calm them down. After a while Jongdae began to shiver as the air got cooler the closer to night they came.</p><p>“Should we head in? Its almost dinner time anyways.” Minseok took his jacket off and put it around Jongdae's shoulders who nodded in agreement. Smiling, Jongdae took Minseok's hand in his as they walked into the castle.</p><p>~</p><p>“Do you think we need any more books? I want to have a nice variety.” Jongdae questioned Minseok as he went through the bookshelf in their nursery.</p><p>“Dae. I think we have plenty of books. Did you forget we have wall to wall bookshelves in the library of this castle?” Minseok chuckled as he watched Jongdae scan the books again.</p><p>“Yeah but those aren’t baby books. He won’t be reading poetry books or historical records just yet.” Jongdae pouted. Minseok laughed again before walking over and kissing the pout off of Jongdae's lips.</p><p>“I think we are good. Anything they will need after they are born, we will get it for them. Okay?” Minseok smiled at Jongdae who nodded his head cutely.</p><p>“Should we head to Yixing? Don’t want to be late for your appointment.” Minseok asked as he helped his fiancé up off the floor.</p><p>“Yeah. Maybe he can give us a date finally.” Jongdae sighed when he finally got to his feet.</p><p>It was now the middle of summer, and Jongdae was over eight months along, approaching his ninth month, and he could tell he was reaching the end. His stomach was now bulging out so much he felt like every time he moved, he was going to run into something.</p><p>When they arrived at Yixing’s office, the doctor greeted them before waving them into the room.</p><p>“How are you feeling, Jongdae?” Yixing smiled as he watched the man try to sit on the table comfortably.</p><p>“I am so ready to have this baby.” Jongdae sighed.</p><p>“Well, let’s see if we can tell when that will be.” Yixing laughed as he began checking on Jongdae.</p><p>When Yixing finished he made some notes in his notebook before turning back to the couple.</p><p>“Well, it looks like you could have this baby any day now. You are already dilating so that means your labor is already starting. Have you been having any pains lately?” Yixing watched as Jongdae thought back.</p><p>“I guess I’ve had some cramps the last couple of days, but they haven’t lasted long and don’t hurt that much.” Jongdae shrugged as he thought back to the strange pains he got at night or in the middle of the day.</p><p>“Well, that is actually the start of labor. That means your body is getting ready to have the baby.” Yixing smiled, and Jongdae and Minseok shared a shocked look.</p><p>“Those pains will get longer and hurt more, sometime in the next couple of days, so be prepared for that. When they hurt for around a minute and are about five minutes apart, that is when you need to come see me okay?” Yixing looked at the two making sure they were understanding what he was saying.</p><p>“Um. O-okay.” Jongdae stuttered at the thought of his impending labor coming so soon.</p><p>“Don’t be nervous! Everything will go well. Don’t worry. You are in capable hands.” Yixing smiled as he patted Jongdae on the back.</p><p>“Be sure to watch him carefully.” Yixing finished as he looked at the King who looked as if he had seen a ghost. Minseok gulped before nodding his head slowly.</p><p>“Okay. Well, that is all I have for you two. I hope the next time I see you we have a new addition to the family.” Yixing smiled before shooing the two of them out of the room.</p><p>That night Jongdae and Minseok laid in bed just resting in the peace of the night. Minseok was rubbing soothing circles on Jongdae's stomach, jumping every once in a while when he felt a thump against his hand as the baby kicked.</p><p>“I think he wants out more than I do.” Jongdae joked as he rubbed his own stomach trying to sooth the baby.</p><p>“He? You think it's going to be a boy?” Minseok looked up curiously at his bride.</p><p>“I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling they will be.” Jongdae smiled sweetly.</p><p>“You know we haven’t talked about names yet. Do you have any names in mind?” Minseoks questioned.</p><p>“I want you to name them.” Jongdae replied quickly causing Minseok to sit up in confusion.</p><p>“Me? Why me?” Minseok asked curiously.</p><p>“They are your heir. You should name them.” Jongdae shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.</p><p>“But they are our child. They need to be named by both of us.” Minseok watched as Jongdae smiled at him sadly. “I know the reason you are even here in the first place is because I needed an heir, but this child, our child, is so much more than that. They are a piece of you and me and our love, and I want them to grow up knowing that. Their role in the future means nothing to me if they aren’t loved from the moment they are born. So promise me, we will name them together.” Minseok grabbed Jongdae's hand and looked at him sadly.</p><p>Jongdae took a moment to let Minseok's words sink in before he felt tears well up in his eyes. “Okay, Minseok. We will.” Jongdae felt Minseok wipe his tears away before kissing his lips softly.</p><p>“Okay, good. Now let’s get some sleep. Okay?” Jongdae nodded his head before snuggling into Minseok's chest, trying to get comfortable with his huge belly before finally passing out.</p><p>~</p><p>Two days later Jongdae was reading in the library when he felt a pain wrack through his body. It was not like anything he had felt before, and he couldn’t do anything but pause in his chair and wait for it to pass. It only lasted about 15 seconds, but he knew this is the pain Yixing was talking about.</p><p>Jongdae decided to wait to see if the pain would come back, and after about ten minutes Jongdae didn’t feel the pain again so he decided to just wait and went back to his book. Half an hour later Jongdae felt that pain again and when it passed, he decided to go outside for some fresh air and to try and calm down.</p><p>The days had gotten much warmer, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. Jongdae decided to sit at his usual bench and see if the pain came back and as if on cue, he felt that pain again. Jongdae breathed through the discomfort until it finally subsided.</p><p>Jongdae decided it was time to tell Minseok, so he headed back inside. Jongdae had no idea where the King was, or any of his family during the day, so he headed towards his bedroom. On the way Jongdae ran into a maid and told her to send the King to their bedroom as soon as possible, and she nodded her head before walking off.</p><p>Jongdae had just made it back to their room when another contraction hit him, and he had to lean on his nightstand until the pain subsided.</p><p>When it finally passed, Jongdae laid down in his bed and breathed a sigh of relief as the aching left his body, but it was short lived when he felt the pain reappear. Jongdae gripped the sheets of the bed breathing through the discomfort which was lasting longer than ever.</p><p>Jongdae didn’t know how long he had laid in bed, but he knew he went through several more contractions before he heard the door to their room click open.</p><p>“Jongdae?” Jongdae heard the worry in Minseok's voice, who rushed to his side. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I think it's time.” Jongdae gritted out as he felt a new wave of contractions hit him. Jongdae gripped Minseok's hand tightly as he breathed through it again.</p><p>“Okay. Okay. It's okay.” Minseok tried to soothe Jongdae as he watched his bride wither in pain.</p><p>When the pain had finally passed Jongdae looked at the clock by the door. It had definitely been a minute since the contraction started, and his contractions were getting closer together.</p><p>“I think it's time to see Yixing. My contractions are getting too close together.” Jongdae breathed out looking at Minseok.</p><p>“Okay. Can you get up?” Jongdae nodded his head as Minseoks helped him sit up slowly and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.</p><p>Just as Jongdae got to his feet he felt another wave of pain, and he grabbed Minseok's shoulders to brace for it. Minseok rubbed Jongdae's back and held onto him as his bride breathed deeply. When the pain finally left, Jongdae nodded and Minseok helped him walk towards the door. They walked slowly through the hallways of the castle. About halfway to Yixing’s office, Jongdae was hit with another contraction and had to sit in a chair to wait out the pain. When they finally got to Yixing’s office, Minseoks banged on the door loudly before the doctor opened the door.</p><p>“Jongdae. Minseok. What’s wrong?” Yixing could tell from the looks on their faces that they were worried.</p><p>“It's time, Yixing.” Jongdae breathed out has held his stomach soothingly.</p><p>“Okay. Come in, quickly.” Yixing ushered them in and pointed Jongdae towards a new bed he had prepared since their last meeting. It was full of pillows and blankets and had a bunch of tools next to it that kind of scared Jongdae.</p><p>Jongdae had just made it into the office when he suddenly felt a woosh of liquid hit his legs, and he looked down to see a puddle at his feet.</p><p>“W-what’s that?” Jongdae asked, scared.</p><p>“Its okay, Jongdae. Your water just broke, meaning you're getting really close to giving birth. Now let’s get you changed and get you on the bed. Minseok, do you want to be in here for the labor?” Yixing looked at the King who looked like a deer in headlights as he was trying to take everything in. It wasn’t normally customary for the King to be present in the labor room since it wasn’t really a place for a man in his position of power to be, but Minseok saw the look of terror in Jongdae's eyes and knew he wasn’t leaving.</p><p>“No. I'm not leaving Jongdae.” Minseok quickly got to Jongdae's side to help him onto the table after he had changed into a gown.</p><p>“Okay. Well, I'm going to get a few things ready. I'll be right back.” Yixing left the room leaving the couple alone.</p><p>“It’ll be okay, Jongdae. It will be over quickly.” Minseok whispered into Jongdae's ear as the other tried to get comfortable on the bed. Jongdae nodded his head as he looked up at the King.</p><p>“Thank you for not leaving me.” Jongdae smiled.</p><p>“I would never leave you.” Minseok kissed Jongdae's forehead. Yixing returned to the room a few minutes later with another person in tow.</p><p>“Jongdae, Minseok. This is my assistant who is here to help me. Now let’s check you out, okay, Jongdae?” Yixing asked, and Jongdae nodded before he bent his legs up.</p><p>Yixing examined Jongdae, and when he finished, he smiled at the couple. “Well Jongdae is almost completely dilated. I think this baby will be out before we know it.” Yixing replied brightly.</p><p>Jongdae smiled up brightly at his Minseok, who kissed his lips.</p><p>“Wait! My family. They don’t know I’m in labor.” Jongdae gasped when he realized he hadn’t seen any of them all day.</p><p>“I'll find someone to let them know, okay?” Minseok asked before Jongdae nodded.</p><p>Minseok ran out into the hallway and searched around for someone to flag down. Finally he spotted a person at the end of the hallway and called to them. When Minseok approached them he saw it was Junmeyon who was on the way to his office.</p><p>“Your highness? What’s the matter?” Junmeyon could tell from Minseok's face something was happening.</p><p>“Nothing is wrong, but Jongdae is in labor.” Minseok breathed out.</p><p>“Really?! Right now?!” Junmeyons face lit up.</p><p>“Yes, and we need to tell his family. Could you find them for me? Yixing said the baby would be born soon, and I know he wants his family there when it happens.” Minseok rushed out so he could get back to Jongdae as soon as possible.</p><p>“O-okay. Yes, I will find them. Leave it to me.” Junmeyon replied, excitedly.</p><p>“Thank you. I need to get back to Jongdae.” Minseok turned to leave but was held in place by Junmeyons hand on his arm.</p><p>“Wait, Your highness.” Minseok paused to look back at his advisor. “Congratulations.” The advisor smiled before Minseok pulled him into a hug.</p><p>“Thanks. I'll see you soon.” Minseok rushed back to the office, and when he came inside Jongdae was breathing through another contraction. Minseok rushed to his side and quickly grabbed his hand helping him breath through the pain.</p><p>“Okay. Jongdae. Your body is going to want to push now, so listen to it and on the next contraction push.” Yixing was situated at Jongdae's feet and his assistant stood next to him waiting.</p><p>Minseok didn’t know how long the actual labor took because all he could focus on was Jongdae. Every look of pain that passed his bride's face, he wished he could take it away. Every look of relief on Jongdae's face, he wished would last a second longer. But all of that faded away when he heard the first cries of their child.</p><p>Minseok snapped his eyes toward Yixing and watched as the doctor held in his arms their child. Yixing quickly handed the child to his assistant who took him to the other side of the room to clean and examine him.</p><p>“Dae. Dae, did you hear that? That’s our child.” Minseok looked down at Jongdae who relaxed against the bed and looked up at the other.</p><p>“Yes. Our child.” Jongdae breathed as he reached up and put his hand on Minseok's cheek before wiping away the tears Minseok didn’t know he was shedding.</p><p>Minseok leaned down and kissed Jongdae deeply before they heard Yixing walk over to them.</p><p>“Your royal highness, Jongdae. I am proud to present you the future heir of the kingdom, your son.” Yixing smiled as he laid the small, wrapped bundle on Jongdae's chest.</p><p>“A son.” Minseok repeated breathlessly as he looked at the tiny being in Jongdae's arms.</p><p>“Do you have a name picked out?” Yixing asked after he gave the parents a minute to look at their child.</p><p>Minseok looked at Jongdae who nodded his head. “Yes. Ji Haneul.” Jongdae smiled brightly.</p><p>“That’s a beautiful name. I'll give you guys some time alone now.” Yixing smiled before leaving the office.</p><p>Minseok didn’t know how long they sat in silence in the doctor's room just staring at their child on Jongdae's chest.</p><p>“He’s so small. I didn’t think he’d be this small.” Minseok stared in wonder as he put his finger in front of his son's hand, who grasped at it instantly.</p><p>“I definitely didn’t think he’d be this small, not with how huge he made me.” Jongdae joked, and Minseok couldn’t help but laugh loudly.</p><p>“He’s beautiful. Just like his mother.” Minseok commented before kissing Jongdae on the forehead.</p><p>“But he’s going to be as strong and as caring as his dad.” Jongdae shot back with a smile.</p><p>“As both of us.” Minseok added.</p><p>After a while, Jongdae asked Yixing if his family could come in, and within seconds his family burst through the doors and rushed to Jongdae's side. Minseok laughed as he watched Jongdae be engulfed by his family and how they cooed at their child, and he had never felt his heart swell more than in that moment.</p><p>Minseok realized he had a family much larger than he had expected but more loving than any he could have hoped for. He was eternally grateful that Jongdae had come to him, and that someone as loving and thoughtful and passionate was brought into his life. He had gained love in every sense of the word.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What do you think your doing?” Jongdae teased as he watched Haneul grab for Jongdae's finger playing with his ring. It was the child’s favorite thing to play with when sitting in Jongdae's lap.</p><p>Haneul had just turned six months old and was a very active baby. He couldn’t crawl for very long, but he loved to sit up and play with anyone who would give him attention, and there were plenty of people who were willing to provide attention. Ever since he was born, it was like a bright light was brought to the castle, although it wasn’t a dark atmosphere before. Everyday just had something exciting to look forward to.</p><p>Soon after Haneul was born, Jongdae's family had to go back to their village to help their father with the farm, but they were already back at the castle, since winter had started, to help Jongdae prepare for his wedding and take care of the baby.</p><p>Minseok had put many of his royal duties on hold after their son was born, so he could help Jongdae with the constant attention the royal heir required. Minseok told Jongdae they had nurses who could come and take care of the baby for them, but Jongdae had refused. He wanted every second of his son's life to be surrounded by his parents and those who loved him, like he had grown up with. That included the sleepless nights, the irritable mornings, and all the poopy diapers they could change. It had taken Minseok a while to get used to doing so many of these things himself, as he never had to take care of anyone and his whole childhood others had taken care of him, but Jongdae made sure to help whenever the King needed it.</p><p>“There you two are. I’ve been looking for you.” Jongdae jumped when he heard Minseok sneak in behind him.</p><p>“Sorry. Haneul wanted to sit by the window. I know he misses going outside, but it’s been so cold, so I figured this was the best alternative.” Jongdae smiled when Haneul fussed in his arms reaching up for Minseok.</p><p>Minseok chuckled before picking up his son from Jongdae's lap who smiled with glee to see his father.</p><p>“I came to see if you two had eaten yet. I finally got rid of Junmeyon and was going to have a quick lunch.” Minseok kissed Haneuls head as he bounced the baby on his hip.</p><p>“Well, Haneul has eaten, but I haven’t so I would love a quick lunch.” Jongdae stood from the rocking chair and stretched his back out.</p><p>“Okay. Let’s go get something.” Minseok kissed Jongdae's forehead before they left the nursery.</p><p>As the two of them walked down the hallway to the dining room they ran into Jongdae's sister who happily took Haneul from his parents, to spend some time with her nephew while the couple went to eat.</p><p>Jongdae and Minseok decided to just have a quick sandwich so they could get back to Haneul as quickly as possible.</p><p>“So, my parents are coming back later this week.” Minseok commented as he took another bite.</p><p>“Really? So soon?” Jongdae questioned. He knew the previous King and Queen were coming for their wedding, but their wedding wasn’t for another two weeks.</p><p>“My mother has been begging to see Haneul as soon as possible so they wanted to come earlier.” Minseok replied as he finished his meal.</p><p>“Well, that’s good. I know Haneul probably won’t get to see your parents very often, so the more time they are here the better. Plus, they will give me more time off.” Jongdae joked as he sipped his water.</p><p>When Jongdae and Minseok had finished their lunch, they wandered around the castle to find out where Jongdae's sister had taken their son. They found them in the library along with Jongdae's brother.</p><p>“Well, look who is here.” Jongdae's sister cooed, and Haneul instantly snapped his head towards his parents before giggling and smiling at them.</p><p>“Are you having fun with your aunty and uncle?” Jongdae laughed as he picked up his son before twirling him around making the child laugh even harder.</p><p>“He wanted to read some books.” Jongdae's sister stood from the chair she was in and handed the book she was reading to Haneul to Jongdae.</p><p>Jongdae looked at the book and smiled as he realized it was the book of poetry he had picked up the first days he was in the castle over a year ago.</p><p>“You like hearing poetry?” Jongdae asked Haneul who just smiled and giggled at his mom.</p><p>“While I have you here, I wanted to see if you and Haneul would come into the tailor’s place tomorrow so we can get you guys measured for the wedding.” Jongdae's sister asked excitedly.</p><p>“Of course we can.” Jongdae smiled at his sister who clapped her hands excitedly.</p><p>“Great! I have so many great ideas that I need to get started as soon as possible. I only have two weeks! Okay, I'm going to get going so I can get some things ready. I'll see you all for dinner.” Jongdae's sister waved at everyone before running out of the library towards the tailor's room.</p><p>“Are you enjoying the library?” Minseok sat across from Jongdae's brother who was putting down the book he was reading.</p><p>“Yes. I always find something new to read when I come in here. It's amazing.” Jongdae's brother replied in admiration.</p><p>“Well, if there is anything you want when you have to leave you can take it. Or I can send you anything you need.” Minseok replied nonchalantly.</p><p>“Really? That would be incredible. I have never seen many of these books in the villages before.” Jongdae's brother beamed.</p><p>“Of course. Many of them I have already read multiple times and the others are more or less for show from my father and grandfather. I think they would be happy that they are being used by someone who enjoys them, instead of sitting here collecting dust.” Minseok waved his hand as he looked around at the massive amounts of books he had collected since his childhood and his father’s and grandfather’s as well.</p><p>“Thank you so much, your highness. I promise to treat them with the utmost respect.” Jongdae's brother stood to bow to the king. “Now I have to go make a list before I forget all the books I want to read.” Jongdae's brother bowed to the couple before heading to his own bedroom.</p><p>“That was very nice of you.” Jongdae commented as he sat across from Minseok as Haneul began to calm down and get sleepy.</p><p>“Well, I don’t come in here often anymore, and I'm sure he could use them to become a great teacher.” Minseok commented.</p><p>Jongdae smiled at Minseok's encouragement of his brother's dream. Jongdae's education program had been implemented a few months prior, and the villages were all very excited about it. They were still very early in the program, but the scholars had reported to him that many villagers were excited with what the program was doing. Jongdae's brother who had helped create much of the program had been helpful in traveling to villages to gauge their reactions and help with any problems that arose.</p><p>After he saw how well things were going, he had indicated to Jongdae that he wanted to become a teacher. He wanted to be an educator, and Jongdae was excited for him. His parents took it a little harder since they wanted him to be the one to take over the family farm, but they knew he would do a great job as a teacher, so they let him pursue it.</p><p>“I'm sure he will be.” Jongdae smiled until he felt Haneul’s head slump against his shoulder. “Well, I think it's someone’s nap time.” Jongdae stood slowly so as to not wake the baby as he and Minseok left the library.</p><p>~</p><p>“Jongdae, can you hold Haneul so I can measure his back?” Jongdae's sister grabbed her measuring tape and took a bunch of measurements when Haneul held still enough for her.</p><p>“Okay, I think that’s all I need from him.” Jongdae's sister wrote down all the measurements in her little notebook. “Do you think Minseok could take Haneul now? I don’t know how long your measurements are going to take.”</p><p>“Yes. Let me go find him, and I'll be right back. It's almost Haneul’s nap time anyways.” Jongdae rubbed Haneul’s back as he left the room to find Minseok. He found the King sitting in the dining hall with Junmeyon.</p><p>“Hi, Jongdae. How are you?” Junmeyon smiled as he watched the two walk into the room.</p><p>“I'm good. How are you Junmeyon? It's been awhile since I’ve seen you.” Jongdae smiled as he handed Haneul to the King.</p><p>“I'm good. Been very busy taking Minseok's place these last few months, but I'm glad to have a break for now.” Junmeyon smiled. Junmeyon had stepped up to take over many of Minseok's royal duties, especially those that required him to travel, since Junmeyon was the king's advisor, and knew the insides of what needed to be done.</p><p>“Well, I am glad you are back. Now I need you to take Haneul to his nap because my sister still needs to do my measurements.” Jongdae turned to the King who rubbed his son’s back soothingly.</p><p>“Yes, your highness.” Minseoks stood to kiss Jongdae on the cheek causing the other to blush at the title Minseok had started to tease him with. Jongdae knew he would be getting a royal title soon, as their marriage indicated, but it was still strange to hear. “Would you like to come, Junmeyon?” The King asked his advisor.</p><p>“I would love to get some time with Haneul. Even if it's just to put him to bed.” Junmeyon smiled before waving goodbye to Jongdae as they left the room.</p><p>Jongdae finally got back to his sister who wasted no time measuring every inch of his body. The last time Jongdae had been measured by his sister he was a few months pregnant and his body had changed a lot since then.</p><p>“So. Are you nervous?” Jongdae's sister shook Jongdae from his thoughts with the question.</p><p>“Nervous?” Jongdae questioned.</p><p>“I mean you are marrying a King. You’re going to become a part of the royal family officially.” Jongdae's sister pointed out.</p><p>“I guess, I don’t really think of it like that.” Jongdae shrugged his shoulders. “I just think that I am marrying Minseok, not King Xiumin.” Jongdae hadn’t really thought about how his marriage would look to others, but to him he was just marrying Minseok. He knew his title, his duties, his position in society's eyes would change, but none of that mattered because he was going to marry the man he loved.</p><p>“Well, I think that is a good answer. Nothing else matters. It’s a day for you and his royal highness.” Jongdae's sister smiled as she took his final measurements.</p><p>“Okay. I think I'm done. I will get started on this right away, and we should be able to have a fitting next week.” Jongdae's sister clapped her hands in excitement, and Jongdae breathed a sigh of relief that he could leave.</p><p>That night at dinner had been one of the livelier ones in a while. Junmeyon shared about the different places he had visited the last few months, Jongdae's parents talked about the people they met when they went into the town earlier that day, and Haneul spit his food all over the table causing everyone to laugh, only for Haneul to repeat the action a few more times to get the same reaction. It was pretty late when they had all decided to head to bed, and Jongdae and Minseok headed to the nursery to put Haneul to sleep.</p><p>“I think he tired himself out at dinner.” Minseok laughed as he listened to his son’s breathing in his ear.</p><p>“I think we are all tired from that dinner.” Jongdae sighed as he looked at the pieces of food he had on his clothing from his son's playful display at dinner.</p><p>Minseok laughed loudly as they entered the nursery. They quickly got Haneul changed so they wouldn’t wake him up too much before placing him in his bassinet.</p><p>“Are you ready for bed?” Minseoks sighed when he felt Jongdae's head hit his shoulder.</p><p>“Yes. Please.” Jongdae yawned before the two of them headed to their own bedroom next door.</p><p>The couple fell quickly to sleep, knowing they would have to get up in several hours to the cries of their child.</p><p>~</p><p>Jongdae gasped as he looked at himself in the mirror. His wedding suit was simple but glamorous, exactly something he knew his sister could pull off.</p><p>“What do you think? It might be too simple for someone becoming a royal.” Jongdae's sister watched her brother turn and move around in front of the mirror.</p><p>“No. I think it's perfect. It's simple but regal looking. I love it.” Jongdae smiled as he began to picture himself walking down the aisle in his suit.</p><p>“Well, it would look even more regal with something like this.” Jongdae jumped when he heard Minseok's mother, the Queen, enter the room.</p><p>Jongdae and his sister quickly bowed to the Queen who smiled lovingly at them.</p><p>“No need to be formal. We are all about to be family anyways. Now, try this on.” The queen set down the box she had carried in and opened it to reveal a gorgeous tiara.</p><p>The queen walked over to Jongdae and set the tiara on his head. Jongdae was amazed at the weight of it but let the queen adjust it until she was satisfied. When Jongdae turned to the mirror he gasped in amazement.</p><p>The tiara was much grander than the one he wore at the ball to announce his pregnancy. It was almost a palms width high with diamonds encrusted on every inch. The tiaras metal had intricate swirls that gave a sort of woodland feel to it, all surrounding three large diamonds in the middle.</p><p>“Oh my god. This is beautiful. Are you sure I can use it for my wedding?” Jongdae couldn’t take his eyes off how he looked in the mirror.</p><p>“I would hope you would. It’s the tiara I wore when I got married.” The Queen replied casually.</p><p>Jongdae snapped his head towards the Queen and stared at her in shock.</p><p>“Really? Are you sure I can use this?” Jongdae still couldn’t believe what the Queen was telling him.</p><p>“Yes. I want you to. This marriage means so much to the King and I. You have changed our son so much this last year. I know we haven’t been the greatest parents to him, and he had been lonely for so long. But I can tell when he is with you and Haneul, he has found that love he has been missing. So please accept this. It would mean so much to me and the King.” The Queen smiled sweetly.</p><p>“Of course. Of course I will.” Jongdae couldn’t help it as he leaned in for a hug, and the Queen embraced him back.</p><p>“Good. Now I have a grandchild to go see. I will see you both for dinner.” The Queen offered a goodbye before leaving as quickly as she came.</p><p>Jongdae smiled at the Queen’s words. He never would have imagined his life like this almost a year and a half ago, but he wouldn’t change what he had done for a second. His love for Minseok and their child had changed him, too. He had a purpose now and a family to love and a kingdom to help. As much as he may have changed Minseok's life, he had done the same to Jongdae.</p><p>~</p><p>Minseok adjusted his jacket for the hundredth time as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing his entire royal attire, which he hadn’t done since he was crowned king almost six years prior. The large crown on his head and the heavy cape tied around his shoulders weighed him down and made him sweat from the heat.</p><p>“Are you ready, your highness? It's time to head to the ballroom.” Junmeyon peeked his head into the king's room to let him know everyone was ready.</p><p>“Yes. I guess I am.” Minseok took one last look at himself before turning to head to the ballroom. Two maids and Junmeyon quickly grabbed his cape to lift it off the ground as they made their way down the hallway.</p><p>Minseok stood outside the closed doors taking a deep breath before the butlers opened them for him. As he entered the room everyone stood to attention and bowed in respect as the King walked down the aisle towards their officiant. The room was packed with as many people as they could fit inside. There were many of Jongdae's family and friends from his village, the previous King and Queen and their friends, who consisted of many other royals from neighboring kingdoms. The rest were servants from the castle, nobles from the town, and other villagers who wanted to celebrate the King's wedding. Minseok at first was against having non-family members at their wedding but Jongdae had persuaded him to allow anyone to come, and he was glad he did. It showed how much the kingdom was happy for his and Jongdae’s marriage and he wanted to share that love with everyone.</p><p>When Minseok had reached the altar, everyone took their seats again, waiting for his bride to arrive. Minseok looked out over the crowd and spotted the Queen sitting beside Jongdae's mother, who had Haneul sitting in her lap, and Minseok was slightly confused as to where his father was. Just then Minseok heard the orchestra start up their music, and all heads turned towards the doors as they held their breaths.</p><p>When the doors opened, they revealed Jongdae beamed at Minseok who felt his heartbeat grow faster at the sight of his bride. The weight from his attire, all the eyes looking at him and Jongdae, the music that echoed across the room, all of it disappeared as he watched Jongdae walk towards him. Jongdae was dressed in a pearl white suit that hugged his figure slightly, and he carried a simple bouquet of roses. What surprised Minseok most was to see that both Jongdae's father and the previous King were walking him down the aisle, and Minseok smiled at his father.</p><p>When Jongdae had finally reached the altar, Minseok noticed the tiara that sat on his head. It was large and intricate and somewhat familiar to Minseok, but he couldn’t place why. It then hit him that this was the tiara his mother had worn at her own wedding. Minseok had seen paintings of that tiara all his childhood, and it was so unique it would be hard to miss.</p><p>Minseok bowed to Jongdae's father and hugged his own father before whispering into his ear. “Thank you.” The king smiled at his son before walking over to the Queen to take their seats.</p><p>When everyone had settled down in their seats, Minseok grabbed Jongdae's hand before turning towards the officiant.</p><p>Minseok tried to focus on what their officiant was saying but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Jongdae. His bride was smiling brightly at the man as he listened to everything that was said. His eyes glistened in excitement, and he laughed at a joke the officiant must have made but Minseok couldn’t recall. It wasn’t until Jongdae had turned to him that he knew he was being spoken to.</p><p>“I'm sorry w-what?” The King stuttered as he realized everyone was looking at him, which caused Jongdae to chuckle at him.</p><p>“I said, do you take Kim Jongdae to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The officiant raised his eyebrow at the King who cleared his throat.</p><p>“Yes. Yes, I do.” Minseok blushed as he turned to face Jongdae who just smiled back as brightly as ever.</p><p>“And do you, Jongdae, take his royal highness King Xiumin to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The officiant motioned for Jongdae to answer.</p><p>“Yes, I do.” Jongdae replied quickly causing Minseok to let out a chuckle.</p><p>“Well, then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband; you may kiss your bride.” The officiant took a step back to allow the couple to have their moment.</p><p>Minseok didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he reached out for Jongdae's face who placed his own hands on Minseok's arms, and pulled the other towards him until their lips met in the middle, in a soft love-filled kiss. The room erupted as everyone cheered for the new couple before Minseok and Jongdae finally pulled away from each other.</p><p>“For the first time, I am eternally grateful to present to you his royal highness, King Xiumin and his royal highness Queen Jongdae.” The officiant bowed to the couple, and the room quickly followed everyone bowing to the new royal couple as they began back down the aisle. Jongdae stopped when he got to the row with his mother and took Haneul from her arms before they continued.</p><p>Everyone clapped and cheered as they watched the new royal family leave the room, and when they exited Jongdae released a long sigh.</p><p>“That was terrifying.” Jongdae laughed as he adjusted Haneul on his hip.</p><p>“You were scared?” Minseok questioned. From how Jongdae acted, he couldn’t tell the other was nervous at all.</p><p>“Of course I was scared!” Jongdae smacked the King on the arm. “Have you ever married into a royal family? Not really the easiest thing to go through.” Jongdae pouted as they made their way to their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothing.</p><p>“You didn’t look nervous at all. How would I know?” Minseok leaned over to kiss Jongdae on the forehead before kissing Haneul’s as well, who pouted when he didn’t see his father giving him any attention.</p><p>“Well, I knew you would be there. So I knew I was safe.” Jongdae smiled at Minseok as they entered their bedroom.</p><p>Minseok beamed as he listened to Jongdae and couldn’t help the happiness he felt when Jongdae said he made him feel safe. They had a rough start when Jongdae had first come to him almost a year and a half ago, but Minseok knew they would have many many years to make up for it. </p><p>Jongdae set Haneul on the bed before he turned to help Minseok remove his cape.</p><p>“Did you want me to take off your crown too?” Jongdae asked as he hung the cape up on his hanger in the room.</p><p>“No, I think I will leave it. Leave yours, too. It looks beautiful on you.” Minseok smiled as he helped remove the veil Jongdae's sister had attached to the tiara earlier that day.</p><p>“Okay, I will. We should probably head to the feast, I’m sure my mother is dying to hold Haneul again.” Jongdae joked as he turned back to pick up his son, but Minseok's hand held him in place.</p><p>“Jongdae. I love you.” Minseok whispered against Jongdae's lips.</p><p>“I love you, too.” Jongdae smiled before closing the distance between them and kissed Minseok deeply.</p><p>The two suddenly broke apart when they heard Haneul whine from the bed at the lack of attention he was getting.</p><p>“And we love you, too.” Jongdae laughed as he picked up his son before kissing his cheeks repeatedly causing the baby to giggle.</p><p>“Yes, we love you, too.” Minseok gave Haneul’s other cheek the same treatment and the baby screamed and giggled at his parents' affection.</p><p>“Now, let’s go eat some food and see our guests. Okay?” Jongdae asked Haneul, who had no idea what he was saying but smiled at his mother nonetheless. Jongdae and Minseok laughed at their child as they headed out to see everyone, Minseok's hand finding Jongdae’s as if it was the most natural movement in the world.</p>
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